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THE 



HISTORY OP THE ORIGIN OP ALL THINGS; 



THE HISTORY OF MAN 



FROM HIS CREATION TO HIS FINALITY, BUT NOT TO HIS END. 



Wuiim ta[ dftift'B Inltj Ijririts, tjjnmgij an (fetjjlq 3&Mm, 

v 

L. M. ARNOLD, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 



PRINTED AT HIS EXPENSE, PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION OF THE SPIRITS, AND, 

IN GOD'S WILL, SUBMITTED TO A HOLY AND SEARCHING CRITICISM 

FROM EVERY EARNEST SEEKER AFTER TRUTH. 



FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, WHO DESIRE TO FORWARD THE WORK OF 

(iKoVs asUfcemBtfon of i&an, 

FEOM IGNOEANCE, FEAK, AND TOETUEING DOUBT. 
AMEN. 



IN THE YEAR OF GODS GRACE; 
1852. 



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INTRODUCTION. 



"What man is, and was, and will be, has always occupied his thought, 
and engaged his deep research. But heretofore he has had few materials 
for his proceedings, and has made small progress in solving the prob- 
lem his curiosity impelled him to work at. Recently, the minds of many 
have experienced the dawn of brighter anticipation, from the communica- 
tions of spirits. But hitherto the self-will of the mediums has not been 
deeply impressed with the opening of the door to let in God's spirits, the 
Divine Influence, the Holy Spirit; all synonymous terms. This medium 
has been through a course of discipline, which afflictecL, grieved, and sur- 
prised him ; and has experienced the hand of God, in many ways, to fit 
him for this work. It is the will of God that he should now proceed more 
clearly and under standingly ; but the way will not be strewn with flow- 
ers only. Thorns are the usual accompaniments of roses ; and this is a 
life of probation. And how can men be proved without trial, or condem- 
ned without sin ? He will receive pardon, though, when he is qualified 
for it. So will all men. 

The life of man here is short, hereafter it is eternal. Everlasting to 
everlasting is his generation. But the last shall be first in glory, and 
the last first with God. The first shall be last with men. But the glory 
of the last is eternal ; and the glory of the first vanishes as dew before the 
beams of God's love. All shall be, forever, the children of God; and all 
shall, in the future, see God. But the last shall be first; and the first 
last. Be then consoled, ye afflicted: be comforted, ye mourners ; be joy- 
ful, ye who weep ; for God rules and reigns beyond the power of Kings 
or Popes. Priests, laymen, widowed churches, and joyful fools, shall 
all be cast down ; but God shall reign undisturbed in the crash of matter, 
and the fall of universes. His calmness is imperturbable; his will is per- 
fect, in wisdom and power ; his justice and his mercy go hand in hand ; and 
his love unites all, sustains all, blesses all, and will cause all to glorify, 
to praise, to honor, and to love Him, who is beyond, above, every finite 
comprehension ; but bows down the majesty of his nature to hear the 
prayer of an humble and contrite spirit. Amen. 



PREFACE, 



In the beginning of this book my medium was not so passive as he af- 
terward became; and this may account for so great a difference in its 
style and orderly arrangement. We have to accommodate ourselves to 
the medium, when the medium will not accommodate himself to us. 
Having improved him by this exercise, we design to use him still more. 
But only in our own will, which is God's will. He is not to be used in the 
will of other men, nor in his own will. Therefore, you are not to expect 
that he can tell you any thing of himself; nor because you, or he, wish, 
or desire greatly, to have it told. I state this, because I foresee that 
many will desire to ask him to defend, or explain, what I have written. 
He shall not be required to do it. He has his duties to perform. Duties 
to himself, to his family, to his fellow men ; and in order that he can pro- 
perly perform these duties, he must attend to his business ; which requires 
constant and daily supervision, and careful attention. His intentions are 
good j but like other men he is fallible. But, so long as he, or any other, 
proceeds carefully in subjection to God's will, with earnest prayers for 
right guidance, they shall not go astray ; and when they do fall from grace, 
as they sometimes will, the same earnest prayer and desire will secure 
the mercy of God, and their recovery of their lost position. This medium 
will now proceed to publish what he has written. We now direct him to 
do it, with his own money, to the extent of a thousand copies, which are to 
be retailed at six cents each. Then, he will devote all that he receives of that, 
to another edition, as large as it will publish. He will take no copyright. 
He will seek no return of his cost for publication ; no compensation for 
his time and trouble. But the trouble has been a pleasure ; and the time, 
only the usual hours spent at his home, in the midst of the usual noises 
of a large family, consisting in part of children ; and this, for a less period 
than two weeks. The division into chapters, parts, and sections ; the In- 
dex, the Introduction, the Advertisement, the Title-page; indeed, every 
part, but the one sentence declared to have been written by the medium, 
was delivered by the spirit of God to the mind of the medium ; in general, 
word by word, so that two unwritten words were not at once known to the 
medium. The punctuation was done under the supervision of the spirit, 
but, mainly, by the intellect of the medium. 



FIEST GRAND DIVISION. 
ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS, 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



In the beginning God created heaven and earth, and all things that are 
therein. He made man to govern the animal creation, to secure the wel- 
fare of himself, hy the exercise of his mental faculties, and his spiritual 
aspirations. 

Having placed him in a happy position, he left him to cultivate the 
earth, and to supply his bodily wants by his animal observation. The 
love of God protected him from fear and from doubt. But the evil of sin 
entered, because man would not be satisfied with the good God had be- 
stowed upon him. So evil came, in the shape of desire of change ; of love, 
or desire, for unknown things. Having so allowed evil to enter into the 
soul, which, till then, had been the sanctuary of God, man fell into des- 
pondency. He feared God would repay him evil for evil, and place him 
in a state of unhappiness ; because he had not been satisfied and happy 
when in a superior position. But God never placed him in such an inferior 
position ; but caused his holy love to persuade man to advance, to trust to 
his (God's) mercy, and to lean on Him for support in every affliction. As 
man rested on God for support, he was strengthened ; as he loved God, he 
was purified ; for the love of God is a consuming fire, which eradicates 
every evil desire ; which conquers, and turns to dust and ashes, every un- 
holy aspiration, every free thought of fallen man. His wishes, when 
brought into subjection to God's will, will be the emanation of God's 
spirit. 

There is now a proceeding from God's spirit, an influence which acts on 
man, through the spirits of his departed friends ; friends who have left 
the body, to exist in spirit only. This state is a blissful one, by compari- 
son with that of bodily existence, because man is thereby relieved from 
the temptations which the bodily nature impels; and having no thought 
for self only, or no need to have such thought, he delights in doing good to 
others with himself. Being relieved from bodily temptations, he ceases to 
sin, and becomes purified, by the fire of God's love, from the consequences 
of the sins he has committed in the body. Being purified gradually from 
these, he ascends to a higher condition; in which he possesses a greater 
measure of God's presence in him, and being so fitted for higher duties, be- 
comes set apart to usefulness of various kinds, such as God in his wisdom 
imposes as his duties ; and these duties are performed as pleasures. They 



6 

are pleasures ; and confer upon him the highest happiness of which he is 
capable. These duties consist in loving those who are then assigned to 
his care * In watching over and influencing them under the direction of 
God ; thereby bringing forth in them the fruits of repentance, and the de- 
sire of good works. This position can not be occupied by one in the body. 
But those in the body can be placed in an analogous one, that of serving 
God by pomoting the good of fellow men. These are, though, subordinate 
to, and under the direction of, the higher spiritual existences ; as the 
love of God operates through a chain of existence. The higher part being 
more filled with his glory, with his love, and with his power ; the lower 
receiving the influence of the higher, as iron receives the properties of the 
magnet, without becoming the magnet. While so influenced, the lower 
seems sometimes to be equal to the higher ; but some change of circum- 
stances, which breaks the connection of the helice, or chain, dispels the 
illusion. The unaided man falls back, by unholy or inharmonious desires, 
into helplessness; again to be strengthened and revivified by the holy 
encircling influences of the higher and purer existences. 

It is by passiveness, by submission of will, by desire of God's love, that 
the mind of man, in the body, is prepared to receive this evidence of God's 
love, and this manifestation of his power. It is by a faithful observance 
of the impulses of his own higher nature, that he can arrive at this state 
of passiveness, submission, and desire. When imbued with it, he progress- 
es. His position becomes eventually more and more elevated. He be- 
comes stronger and stronger in faith ; which impels him more and more 
to serve God, by obeying the highest impulses he feels. He so comes to 
have a high and holy calling. Being so called, he is a willing servant. 
He has sacrificed his will, as an acceptable offering, on the holy altar of 
God's love. He treads forward in his work, rejoicing as he advances. 
When the summons to leave the body arrives, he is ready and willing. 
He is always resigned to the dispensations of God's will : because he feels, 
and knows, that God loves him, and does not afflict him from hate or re- 
venge ; but, that pity and compassion are the nearest approach to wrath 
of which God is capable. God is omnipotent : and he is omniscient. If, 
then, He knows all, even foreknows all, and his power executes his will, 
even as his will exists, how then could He have wrath, how could He hate, 
how could He revenge ? The moment his will exercised itself, the effect 
would be accomplished. No struggle would avail, no pity could move, no 
submission would have time to operate. In an instant of time, the whole 
creation might be resolved into its original elements, or into nothing ; the 
nothing from which the will of God formed it. He spake, and it was done 
He commanded, and it stood fast. The inspired penman has well express- 
ed the instantaneous operation of God's will. He can as easily destroy as 
create. Man can more easily destroy than create. But that is because 
both are laborious to him; though one involves more labor than the 
other. To God, and with God, both are equal. 

* There is no distinction of sex ; but we use the masculine pronoun in agreement or compli- 
ance with the custom of men in the body. 



CHAPTER n. 

THE HISTORY RECOMMENCED, AND CONTINUED. 

We will now return to the first subject ; To our real subject : The 
Origin of all Things. God having resolved that a creation should be es- 
tablished, willed it. Not instantly in all its parts, but by laws of pro- 
gress. The laws being established, the effects followed inevitably. It is 
beyond the powers of the finite mind to conceive of the operations of 
the Infinite. Therefore, the manner of the conception of the idea is to 
man unexplainable. . But the effects can be related. When matter was 
chaos, a state to which it had progressed from nothing, it continued to 
progress into order. Order established the foundations of the astronomical 
systems, and in order they continued to progress, or develop. From one 
confused chaos, pervading infinite space, resulted heavenly systems of 
universes ; systems of suns ; systems of planets, primary and secondary. 
These various, these innumerable bodies, pervading infinite space, all ex- 
perience the Divine care, and partake of the Divine love. The love of God 
is unfolded by degrees to the knowledge of every creature. These 
worlds, or globes, of matter are all habitable ; and all inhabited ■ some 
by beings higher than man, some by lower orders only. Some have 
beings only like men. Does God, then, reserve men, or that family of men 
placed on this earth, as the only order of beings worthy of his care ? Is it 
for Him that all the starry globes, twinkling from afar, exist ? Does man 
require that God should himself descend from the throne of his unity, 
from the splendor of his glory, from the seat of his power, and the home 
of his love • from pervading the whole universe of universes, illimitable, 
unimaginable by man, to dwell in one body, to concentrate himself to 
one soul, and that a man? -What, must we suppose, would be the pre- 
sumption of a being like man to require this ? And yet man believes 
that only so has God been able to save the beings that have existed on 
this globe. And how, then, have they been saved on other globes? Not 
by having other sons : because then the glory of him who saved men 
would be diminished. Not by sending that same son to other worlds; 
because that would be condemning that only son to infinite, if not unend- 
ing, suffering. For who can conceive of the end of a time that would be 
necessary to pass through an existence in each of the innumerable worlds 
that comprise a universe? And that universe is only an atom of the 
great whole of God's creation. 

Oh, man ! what pride is thine ! What can he not deem worthy of him- 
self, if no sacrifice but the Son of God, an equal with God, is sufficient to 
satisfy his honor, to exalt his glory, to secure his happiness ? Alas ! 
that an idea conceived in ignorance, when the wonders of creation had not 
been opened to the astonished gaze and admiring mind of men ; when the 



8 

earth was thought to be all the habitable creation ; when it was easy to 
suppose that heaven was above, and hell below, its great plane ; alas ! 
I say, that an idea originating in such dark ignorance of nature, and 
of nature's God, should still be maintained by intelligent and educa- 
ted, and even greatly learned men. This is indeed folly. God loves all 
his creatures. God has power to save them all. Can He fail to desire to 
have them saved? Can He fail to have his desire fulfilled? Il He can 
fail, he is not God. God will not be mocked. Such a doctrine is now 
the doctrine of pride, as it was once the doctrine of ignorance. Let man 
be humble. Let him be willing to be saved by God's mercy, which has 
no end. Let him be passive to the holy influences God will throw around 
him ; and act in humble reverence of a being as merciful as he is power- 
ful, and as loving as he is great and good. 

The end of the matter is this. God has placed man here, as He has 
placed other beings elsewhere, to manifest his glory, to make known his 
power, to establish his mercy, to exercise his love. He wills them to en- 
counter temptations, to bear afflictions, to sustain labors, to sink under 
evil, to be raised by his love ; to be established by his power, as the work 
of his hands, and the fraction pertaining to the great whole of his univer- 
sal creation. Man was y before this earth was. Man was not created for 
himself, nor for the earth. He was made for God's glory, and to enjoy the 
benevolence of a merciful and all-wise creator. It is God's pleasure that 
man shall be happy. He Avills that he shall be able to enjoy and to 
appreciate the happiness He wills to confer upon him. It is only by con- 
trast that we can know happiness. It is only by cold we can know 
heat. It is only by pain we can know pleasure. This life in the body, 
pleasurable though it is to us on the whole as we experience it, will be 
the foundation for the superstructure of unutterable bliss, that will be 
enjoyed by every man at some period, when he will look back to this 
bodily state as one of misery ; misery mitigated only by the knowledge 
that it was dictated by true benevolence, that it was only a preparation 
for higher states, in which its memory should be present as a contrast. 
Even as every picture must have shade to contrast its light, so must every 
mind have unhappiness wherewith to measure its happiness. This is the 
true explanation of the usefulness of evil. All are but parts of one stu- 
pendous whole, says the poet. All that can ennoble and elevate man is 
often obscured by the darkness of ignorance and the love of self. But 
when the body is forsaken, the soul, freed from further temptations, is 
operated upon by the efforts of others, under God's laws, till, little by little, 
it is freed from the depths of the darkest ignorance, and recognizing its 
brighter and holier nature, gladly strives to serve God, which is to 
serve others. Strictly speaking we can not serve God. He needs no 
service. An Omnipotent being can not need help. He is happy. We 
can not make him more so. We can promote our own good, and elevate 
our happiness, by serving others under his influence ; and by coming into 
Harmony with his Divine nature. The pure in heart shall see God. As 
we advance we reach nearer and nearer to his nature, we are more and 
more purified and refined in our nature and manifestations, till at last 
we shall be one with God ] because we shall have no other will than his, no 



9 

other desire than to be in harmony with him. We shall then be Sons of 
God, reconciled to him, one with him. One in power, one in glory, one in 
honor. Because we shall be no other than a part of God himself; an 
emanation of himself united to himself, after a long series of adventures, 
in which we hare experienced, and continue to enjoy, an individual exist- 
ence, yet harmonized mysteriously with, and into the Divine Nature. 



chapter in. 

THE ORIGIN OF MAN. 

Having now opened our subject, I will proceed to state the Origin of 
Man. 

Man is a being of various existences, comiected with each other by ties 
of various natures. His origin is God; from whom proceedeth all things. 
All things are of God ; and, in one sense, all things are in God. But, yet, 
some are more separated from God than others ; and though God fills all 
space, and exists at one and the same time in every part of the universe 
of his creation ; pervading every creature, maintaining every life, he still 
gives to his creature an independence of him, greater or less, never abso- 
lute. It will perhaps be better understood to say, every creature is more 
or less dependent on Him, though all have originally when created, points, 
or angles of separation. The course of their existences never is parallel 
with God, but all diverging, or approaching, him. Man's course is first di- 
vergent from God. Man's spirit, which is the Man, while the body is mere- 
ly its clothing, is an emanation from the Deity, a part of the Divine spirit. 

It is first placed in a state of quiet happiness, removed from pain, sub- 
ject to no trials, having no knowledge of affliction, or of temptation. Here 
it is male and female. Not that one being is of both sexes, but that two 
beings unite to form one harmonious existence in each other. This state 
exists for a long period. To man's comprehension it would be an eternity. 
But it is an existence of sameness, without emotion. No events mark its 
progress, or recall and measure its period. The existence is pleasurable. 
They are as Gods : each as God, so far as being without affliction or un- 
filled desire. But they have not eaten of the tree of knowledge of good 
and evil. They can not taste that, without passing from their harmonious 
existence. They are pure, and see God. They are innocent, and love 
him. They are as children; and, being thus passive in the hands of 
God, they are in heaven. It is the state of Paradise. They are not yet 
clothed with earthly bodies. They have not even the spiritual body 
which men possess after the death of the natural body. They exist with 
constant pleasurable sensations and associations. Each pair is independ- 
ent of the others. No government is required; there are no crimes to 
punish, no rights to maintain. God sustains all, is in all, and in him 
they move and have their being. But where are they? is asked. They 
are in God. They are where He is. Sensible that they are not God, but 
that they have an individual and a pairital existence. This is the first 



10 

state of man; and is also the first state of all "beings similar to him, that 
inhabit other globes ; as well as of every superior order of beings that 
exists. These superior orders of beings differ from man by having after- 
ward more wonderful bodies, endowed with higher and more extensive 
powers. But they assume such bodies as their nature requires. To 
every seed God giveth its own body. There are orders various of these 
beings, as all God's creation is composed of varieties ; as men differ 
from each other in race, features, manners, and intellect. Yet before God 
all are equal. They are each and all such as he willed to have them. 

In the beginning, God created the worlds that fill or are scattered 
through infinite space. The lapse of time since the beginning, is too re- 
mote for man's comprehension. Astronomers tell him how long the most 
distant stars they are acquainted with must have existed, in order that 
their light should have reached the earth. But how much longer they 
have existed, or how much further creation extends, none can compute. 

After the worlds, or globes of matter, were formed from the chaos of the 
first creation, man was separated from the perfect oneness he before that 
had with God. Placed then in Paradise, a long period of tranquil happi- 
ness prevailed, undisturbed by aspirations or desires. This maybe known 
as a sabbath of rest. As a time when the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Such was Paradise, and such it 
is yet to the created, but unborn, spirits of men. 

But every part of God's creation had impressed upon it, by unerring 
Wisdom, the law of progress. And though man's path at times diverged 
from God's own course, it none the less led to higher glory, and ends in 
the greatest happiness. 

The law of progress having aroused in man, while in his quiet first state 
of separate and bipartite existence, a desire for greater knowledge ; a de- 
sire to experience, to act, instead of merely existing, and enjoying, the 
being passes into a body, prepared under the operation of God's immu- 
table, but progressive laws for its reception. It is expelled from Paradise, 
because Paradise ceases to be all it desires, ceases to render the man 
happy. 

And how did the first spirit or soul of man that left Paradise find a 
body ? In the order of God's creation, a body was prepared. In the full- 
ness of his knowledge, every want was foreseen, and the very period that 
it should occur known. God formed the body from the dust of the earth. 
The spirit that had long before emanated from God, entered into the body, 
and conferred upon the insensate mass, Life. Man became a living soul. 
Multitudinous desires sprang into existence. Multitudinous difficulties 
prevented their realization. Disappointment is affliction. Deprivation of 
present happiness is the inevitable consequence of affliction. Selfish desires 
are unholy, because they are indulged in at the expense of benevolence. 
Benevolence consists in doing good to others. Selfishness desires only to 
benefit self. Its indulgence at the expense of others is often a crime by 
the laws of man. By God's law it is a sin. It may be pardoned. Its 
legitimate consequences may be overruled. But in general, it makes an 
indelible print on the character, on the spirit, or soul, of the actor. In- 
delible except by the mercy of God. Yet his mercy is ever ready to ex- 



11 

ercise itself upon the sinner ; and so long as sin exists God's spirit will 
strive with man. But God's spirit will not always strive With man. 
Therefore, the day will come when sin will no longer exist. Then God 
will have reconciled all to himself. Sin and death will no longer live, 
or occur. All will be one with God, through Christ. Christ, or the Mes- 
siah, or the Sent of God, for all these terms are synonymous. There is 
then one God, the Saviour of all men ; and Jesus, whom he sent, preached 
this. Every true prophet has preached it, and will preach it, so long as 
men require preaching. But the time cometh, when all shall know God 
from the least to the greatest. That is, the time is coming to every indi- 
vidual separately, not to all at once. He will be known of all men. He 
will write his law in their hearts, and put it in their inmost parts. Not 
always while they are in the body, but certainly at some time. The time 
will be, when they are willing and desirous to be led and guided by Him, 
and to receive the fulfillment of his gracious promises. For the free will 
of man is never infringed. He must work out his own salvation. He 
must be purified like gold in the refiner's fire « like silver in the pot. 
This is the sure and steadfast promise of God, which is Yea and Amen for- 
ever. Blessed be God who confers such happiness on his creatures, who 
bestows such good gifts on his children. Yea, even the boon of eternal 
life. Eternal happiness, eternal progression, in the beams of his all be- 
neficent power and love. Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth 
and good- will to men. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

THE DUTIES MEN OWE TO EACH OTHER. 

There is now a long course of instruction required, upon the duties men 
owe to each other. But I shall not undertake to preach it, for the time 
has not come when men are willing to receive it. Selfishness prevails 
too generally, is too strongly intrenched in the hearts of men. Its out- 
works are found in the laws and customs of traffic, in the arts of profes- 
sions, in the habits of workmen. Its strongholds can only be reached by 
demolishing the defenses it has raised in society, in politics, even in law, 
and in theology. The social system is too much based on self. But yet 
it contains within itself, the laws of progress, and will purify itself from 
error by the aid of good men acting under the inspiration of God, through 
spirits devoted to this work. Fear not, for I am with you to the end of the 
world, is still the language of the Sent of God, to all who desire to be- 
lieve in his power and do his work. For already the harvest is ripe. 
The laborers are now few. But there is the more occasion for their ac- 
tivity. At the eleventh hour the laborers will be many; and each man 
who works to the end shall receive equally the reward of a faithful la- 
borer. That reward is eternal life. For the last shall be first, and the 
first last. But to him who endureth to the end is laid up a crown of 
glory ; and not to one only, but to all them that love God, that love his 



12 

Messiah. And can any one refrain from Loving a being whose nature is 
love, and who confers only benefits on all? God is love, and none can re- 
sist the operation of his eternally acting love. that, as a consuming fire, 
will overcome and consume every evil thought, every evil desire, every 
evil imagination, wherever it may exist. Even selfishness, if it could 
possibly retain its nature while seeing fully the love of God, would, from 
love of self, desire the love of God, seeing the ineffable happiness and the 
triumphant glory of the spirits that live, and love, to serve others. To 
them, indeed, all else is added. So will it be to all, and every, that seeks 
first the kingdom of God. But the moment that selfishness begins to de- 
sire the love of God, it begins to progress to be like God. To be benevo- 
lent, as he is benevolent ; to be loving, as he is loving : to be kind, as he 
is kind ; to be faithful, as he is faithful ; to be willing to help, as he is 
willing to help; to be in every possible way, more and more divine, 
more and more in harmony with God, till at last the demon of self aban- 
dons the happy man, and God is, with him, all in all. 

But how will the ungodly appear, if the righteous scarcely be saved ? 
Remember the parable of those who worked different hours-, but all re- 
ceived the same reward. Are any wholly good? No; not one. All 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Are any wholly bad. or 
ungodly? No; not one. The divine essence, which is the germ of man. 
is never extinguished. It is immortal and incorruptible. It may be con- 
cealed for a time, yet its aspirations must at last have vent. They will 
reach the great fountain of itself, and of all good. There is a Messiah to 
every soul, a Redeemer to every spirit. Were it not so, I would have 
been lost to God. All would have wandered without a guide, and who 
could have been saved ? God is not partial. His ways are not as man's 
ways. He is just. All men are equal before him. If it were not so. 
his justice would not be manifest ; and without justice, He would not be 
the Deity. For Deity is perfection, and a being can not be perfect without 
justice. 

God is just. Will he not, then, punish by eternal tortures, those rebels 
against his laws, who living only for self, have delighted in crime, and 
walked in wickedness ; who have really acted ungodly, as if there were no 
God ? Alas, for humanity ! It would persuade itself that it is superior 
to God in mercy and compassion. The most daring rebels are pardoned 
by human governments, and the governors are commended for their hu- 
manity. They have acted upon the preaching of the Messiah. They 
have heaped coals of fire upon the heads of their enemies. They have 
overcome evil with good. But is God less merciful ? Is vengeance more 
necessary to Him ? Is the fear of terrible punishment necessarily ever to 
be held before the imagination of his enemies, to enable Him to overcome 
their evil with good ? 

Is man, only, to act upon the heavenly teachings of Jesus the Messiah ! 
is he, only, to forgive insults and injuries ! No ! these teachings are heav- 
enly, because they inculcate God's order, God's laws. God's rules of jus- 
tice and mercy. When Jesus taught these doctrines their novelty was 
startling. He taught as no man had ever taught. Now we commend 
the teaching, we glorify those whose actions accord with it. But do men 



13 

believe themseves generally capable of acting in accordance with them ? 
or do they not rather put them off as beyond their nature ; as being too 
God-like, as pertaining too much to heaven, to be practiced on earth? 
And yet they have been practiced by men. and men have been commend- 
ed by their fellow men for it. How. then, will you not permit God r s just- 
ice to be reconciled with mercy ? Has God need to protect his station, by 
punishing rebels with eternal torture ? Is he so affected by the crimes, or 
sins of men. that he can never forgive, without endangering his reputation 
for justice '? Not so. The actions of men can impair their own present 
happiness, but God, who sees to the end, does not feel annoyed by the 
evil, or the sin. Thou fool ! cease to do evil, learn to do well. Cease to 
impute to God actions you yourself would be ashamed of : you yourself 
feel incapable of inflicting upon your own erring children. You seem 
even to desire that God should be unforgiving in his nature, if only you. 
selfish creature ! can be saved by the sacrifice of an innocent victim. 

It is no doubt true, that very often the just suffer for the unjust : but 
never by God's interference. It is only the work of men. Are these as- 
sertions positive, and mere assertions ? I ask you to go down into the in- 
nermost part of your being. There ask the Divinity, that never wholly 
forsakes man, if they are not true; if they are not in accordance witfi 
eternal justice, universal benevolence, all-pervading love, and inexhaustible 
mercy ? Look to the example of every good man : look at what is record- 
ed of Jesus, the Son and Sent of God, and see if they are not in accordance 
with his precepts and his actions. He went about doing good. Preach- 
ing that men should practice practical virtue. He healed the sick, forgave 
sins, and prayed for his enemies. He resisted not those who took his life, 
but forgave them. He called on you to be perfect, even as your Father in 
heaven is perfect. He called on you to be one with him, even as he was 
one with the Father. Would you do this ? Then act as he did. Sacrifice 
self. Live for others. 



chapter v. 

WHAT IS MAN? 

What is man. oh, Lord, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
man, that thou regardest him? exclaimed the Psalmist in olden time. 
Thou hast created him a little lower than the angels, thou hast raised him 
to power, and placed him in glory. Oh. God, thou knowest all things, and 
all things tend to increase thy glory ! Wherewith shall I come before the 
Lord ? Shall I offer my first-born ? or will He be content with thousands 
of rams, and tens of thousands of lambs ? Alas ! that man should fancy 
his sacrifices could please God, except, as they are the evidence of a will- 
ingness to do his will. And what is his will ? Be ye perfect, even as 
your Father in heaven is perfect. Is this a hard saying ? Take my yoke 
upon you, my burthen is light. Is this easier ? What will you have ? 
Will you have salvation by mercy ? or by merit ? My friends, be not dis- 



14 

mayed. You may be saved by both. Be willing to be saved in God's 
own way. This is the first requisite. This willingness, I assure you. is 
far from common. Easy as you think it at first sight, easy as it is in re- 
ality, there is a time when it seems hard. It seems hard to yield all our 
prejudices'. To believe that all may be saved as easily as we can be. 
To believe that none can say, Stand back, I am holier than thou. To be- 
lieve that we may go where others can not, is not believing all men are 
equal before the eternally just God. 

Man is a twofold being, as he now appears on the earth. He has an 
animal and a spiritual body; albeit, that was not first which is spiritual, 
but that which is natural ; and afterward that which is spiritual. Now, 
this text requires explanation, for its true interpretation. The first state 
of man is spiritual ; purely so. But, then, in this present state, the animal 
is first formed, and receives its life and intelligence by influx of the spirit- 
ual., What, then, shall we say? Was Paul wrong? was he without 
knowledge of this fact of pre-existence ? No : but he was endeavoring to 
show the Corinthians, that they should live beyond the grave. That those 
brethren whom they mourned as being dead, without having lived to see 
Christ at his second coming, were not dead really; but living, sentient, spir- 
itual beings. Capable of joy, and beyond sorrow. Living to praise God, 
and living to love Christ, whom God had sent to teach them all things the 
Father had given him to deliver. Could the Corinthians have borne the 
full revelation of the past, as well as the glimpse of the future, Paul 
would have told them of it. But they were, as yet, scarcely delivered 
from the errors of Pagan idolatry j and Paul was too well disciplined a 
soldier of the cross, he was too passive in God's hands to declare, what 
they were unprepared, in that age of the world, to receive with faith. 
They could hardly believe in the resurrection ! how, then, might he declare 
the more wonderful doctrine of pre-existence ? They were edified by what 
he wrote. They would have been torn by dissension, had he declared too 
much. Why, then, did he not word this passage differently, so that we, at 
least, might find an evidence in it that he knew of pre-existence ? Thou, 
who thus parleys with me, know that Paul was only a man. Inspired, if 
you please, by God, to deliver the truth to mankind. He had his mission. 
He fulfilled it. He, who declared that one came after him, whose shoe 
latchet he was unworthy to unloose, was greater than Paul, as a prophet. 
And yet, how little is recorded of John, the Baptizer. Paul was not re- 
quired to unfold doctrines hard to receive. There were already too many 
speculations upon abstractions. The church was already full of dissen- 
sions. He desired to preach Christ crucified, and him only. That is, to 
declare that Christ, the Messiah so long promised, had come ; that he had 
called men to repent, and to seek the living God ; and that he had been 
crucified : and raised, by the power of God, from the dead, so as to appear 
again to many of his followers ; and that he still lived, able to aid 
and comfort his followers, and help them, on their way to join him, 
in the everlasting courts of heaven ; where the praises of God continually 
ascend ; and where the incense of good works is ever acceptable. 

Whence we come, and where we go, has been declared by inspired 
writers long ago. Look for the evidence and you will find it. Yet it has 



15 

been overlooked by all the wise and great in the churches thus far. 
Look at Solomon's declarations. There is one way for all to go, both man 
and beast. Man dieth like grass, etc. Does not this require elucidation ? 
But I shall not take up every hard saying, or puzzling text, and explain 
why it was written. Let it suffice, that when it was written, it was well, 
it had a purpose, and it accomplished it. Let the dead bury their dead. 
Do you press forward in the way of life eternal ; which is, to love God, 
and be his servant. His servants are only required to work for their fel- 
iow-men. He needs not their labor for himself. But he desires to see 
them happy, and to be happy they must be useful. Where is the man 
whose life is pleasurable in idleness ? The idle man's body stagnates, 
his life corrupts. Usefulness is required of every man, in every condition. 
The more God distributes to one, the more has that one to account for. 
And will not God be found a hard master, in the sense that He will 
require a strict account ? Yea, of every idle word you must give an ac- 
count. Be wise, then, ye rich in this world's goods. See that nothing is 
wasted, either of them, or of your time j but devote them all to the serv- 
ice of your fellow-men. Relieve suffering; find employment; render 
others useful. Be wise in time, for ye know not when ye shall be called 
on to account for the deeds done in body and for the deeds you neg- 
lected to do. When you are told, You did it not unto these, therefore, 
you did it not unto me, what will be your regrets over your misspent 
time ? In some respects it is far easier to progress here than in spirit form. 
But do not regard the nice points of doctrine or belief. Take no heed 
what ye shall put on, but be useful to mankind. View all as your breth- 
ren, whom it is a duty to assist. Press onward in this path of progress 
and you will find peace. Peace on earth, and good- will to men. 

Be not over careful of the future. Sufficient unto to-morrow will be its 
own cares and duties. Be faithful now to your present duties. Put not 
off the time when you will be useful to your fellow-men, to your 
brethren. Be wise to-day, for you know not what a day may bring forth. 
Be careful to know your duties, be diligent to perform them. Let each day 
have all its duties performed within itself, leaving the morrow free of debt. 
So shall you progress rapidly in good works. You will never need to re- 
peat the saying of the Roman Emperor, I have lost a day. Because each 
day will have been saved. God will have been served by you with dili- 
gence, love, and reverence. All men have their duties. If riches make 
them manifold, poverty makes the few arduous. Progress, then, every 
one; -rich and poor, wise and simple. Be not fearful that you will faint 
by the way, for you shall have meat you know not of. You shall find it 
meat and drink to your soul, to serve God ; and your soul will enlarge and 
strengthen itself, and your body, under this regimen. How, then, will you 
delay to take the cross of Christ, the Messiah, the Son and Sent of God, 
who called you to this work, by precept and example ? How will you 
refuse the help God offers you now, through his willing spirits ? The 
help of their counsel, advice, and works. The Father has worked, the 
Son has worked, the brethren now work. The brethren of Christ ; each 
of whom is Christ ; because each is one with him who preached at Jeru- 
salem. All are children of one Heavenly Father, who delights in their 



16 

joy, and beholds with pleasure their efforts to serve Him with a pure 
heart and willing mind. Would you, too, be a son of God ? begotten by 
his power, and saved by his mercy ? Then follow him, who called you 
affectionately, Come unto me all ye that labor, and I will give you rest. 
Come unto me all ye that thirst, and I will give you drink. Come unto 
me all ye that have no homes, and I, who have not where to lay my head, 
temporally, will give you a place in heavenly mansions. For in heav- 
en there are many mansions. And, however strong may be a man's expect- 
ations, he shall not come short of his reward. For the praises of God are 
bestowed on good servants, and they are made rulers over many. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE SOUL OF MAN, IN ITS RELATION TO GOD. 

What is there in the earth, then, that can enchain the soul of man, 
when it properly appreciates its destiny ? Is the honor and fame of the 
greatest, or the glory of the wisest man. commensurate with his aspira- 
tions ? Does not the soul still ask for more ? More ! more ! more ! is 
ever the prayer of man. Can any thing short of perfection satisfy this 
longing ? Can any soul be eternally satisfied with the highest bliss it can 
now imagine ? Not at all • for beyond that happy state lies another glo- 
rious mansion, higher, purer, more spiritual, and more real. But the 
greatest pleasure that heaven's residents enjoy, is the satisfaction of hav- 
ing performed their duties, of having thereby served mankind, and there- 
by pleased God. Let us think, for a moment, of the state of a man con- 
demned to an eternal sojourn in the body. Even could the body retain its 
youth, how must he tire of every amusement, how must he long for nov- 
elties to explore, for worlds to conquer. Why, then, man ! why dread 
the hour of separation from the dust of the earth ! Alas ! ages of igno- 
rance and dark error have obscured the light within every man's soul. 
The light of God's love. When man really believes God loves him, he 
can not but desire to be with God, as earnestly as Paul or Jesus ever did. 
And can you not believe God loves you? Do you fear your sins have 
turned his love into hate ? or, do you believe there is no God to love, or 
hate? No one to rule the universe that chance has made, and which 
chance preserves ? Even then, would not a leap into chance be desirable ? 
Would you not choose to put your hopes in chance, that might be for the 
better ; and that, at least, would have novelty to recommend it ? Anni- 
hilation is feared. But what can annihilate a thought, an idea? And 
can a producer of an immortal be mortal ? The idea is not scientific. It 
is not reasonable. Reason is the gift of God • and, well exercised, it will 
lead you to its Giver. Ponder upon this ; ponder upon all you see of cre- 
ation's glories ; ponder upon all you ask to be completely happy ; and see 
if any thing but an Infinite can gratify your wants, or display the glories 
you daily behold. So common are wonders that you cease to admire. 



17 

But, now, new wonders are presented to you. It has pleased God, in 
these latter days, to send us ; his messengers, angels, spirits, or whatever 
you please to call us ; but, certainly, his servants ; it has pleased Him to 
direct us to call you by new methods, by outward signs, by wonders that 
philosophy can not explain, and credulity only can question. Yes, it is 
only questionable by credulity. Men who have credulously admitted the 
assertions of fallible creatures, like themselves, to be infallible truths ; 
who refuse to listen because they are told it is dangerous ; because it may 
overthrow their authority, so cherished ; their idol, so worshiped. Their 
pastor, perhaps, threatens ; warns ; entreats ; cries out, wolf ! wolf ! 
When, in reality, it is only to a still, small voice that we ask you to listen. 
We startle you with violent, or forcible, demonstrations, only to awaken 
your attention : to break the slumber that enchains the heart, given up to 
faith in a brother, equally enchained by ages of tradition and invention. 
Why, then, do we not speak to you in the still voice ? Because you are 
not willing to receive it. Behold, we stand at the door of your heart 
knocking, and asking for admittance. You will not open, or open only a 
crack, as it were. You stand before us in fear. But do we preach fright- 
ful doctrines ? Behold ! we preach one God, the Father of All, the Maker 
of Heaven and earth, and all that is therein; and Jesus Christ, the Mes- 
siah, his Son, who was born of a virgin mother, who was crucified, was 
dead, was buried ; who descended into the place of departed spirits ; the 
third day he arose again, he ascended into heaven, from whence he shall 
come to judge the living and dead. I, or we (for, though many, we are 
one), believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the Commu- 
nion of Saints ; the Life Everlasting. Do you believe in this ? Scarcely. 
You repeat the form of words, handed down from the beginning ; but you 
pervert the substance, you misconstrue the spirit of them. What do you 
believe of the Communion of Saints ? Will you listen to the Saints when 
they desire to communicate with you ? I only ask you to do that. I only 
ask you to open the door wide, and wider, to let the King of Glory enter in. 
What do you believe of the Holy Ghost ? The Holy Spirit, as it ought to 
read, and does read in other languages. Do you believe it can communi- 
cate with you ? Do you believe it would be desirable that it should do 
so? Then be willing to open the door of your heart; at which I am 
standing till my head is wet with dew, and my locks with the drops of 
the night. Open the door, and let the King of Glory enter in. He is 
ready, and waiting for you to be willing ; for man shall be left free to 
choose the good and refuse the evil ; or to choose the evil, and leave the 
good. What do you believe of the Holy Catholic Church? Do you be- 
lieve all churches belong to it ; or all men ; or all your own church mem- 
bers ; or only a few selected from your own church ? Or are they not all 
men who serve God ? who are neighbors to those that fall among thieves ? 
Oh, wicked and corrupt generation of vipers ! You will neither enter in, 
nor let others pass the open door. You would, if you could, shut the gate 
of God's mercy, and condemn your brethren to eternal tortures. But God 
is too strong for you. The foundations of his goodness and mercy are laid 
in his strength ; and who shall fight against that ? The superstructure is 
built by Love, upon this sure foundation, the rock of faith; and who shall 

2 



18 

declare Him unrighteous ? Who shall deny Him the right to love his chil- 
dren ? His children ask him for "bread; will he give them a stone? 
What will you have? mercy, or justice? Will you choose mercy for 
yourselves, and declare that justice requires others to suffer? What 
will you require of God ? Heartless cruelty ? or glorious mercy, inef- 
fable love ? Alas ! that man should be so wise, in his own conceit, as to 
make God powerless ; desiring to save sinners, yet unable to accomplish 
it. Desiring to save mankind, and reconcile the world to Himself; yet af- 
ter sacrificing his only Son, to be foiled by man's perverseness, or the arts 
of an enemy ; an enemy that was either created by Himself, or else has 
ever existed independent of Him. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE DESIGN OF MAn's CREATION. 

Man was created for the pleasure of the Deity. This truth will be 
evident to a reflecting mind, because the Creator could have had no other 
inducement. He had no need of man to insure his empire, or happiness. 
But He could please himself, by occupying his mind with the struggles 
and pains, the pleasures and raptures, of a free-willed being. He made 
him, and pronounced him good. He formed him for enjoyment, and placed 
him in Paradise. Foreseeing, foreknowing, that the desire of change 
would come upon the tablet of his mind ; and, that with that desire, 
would come a struggle for its gratification, he provided the means for 
man to gratify this, his first desire. He knew it would be a blind one. 
That he would not ask, first, to know what he would get by the change. 
But the life of enjoyment, which is aimless, ceases soon to be a life of en- 
joyment. Then change of some kind is demanded : and even a change for 
the worse would be welcomed. What, then, could God do to make man 
happier, after he was in Paradise, or tranquil happiness, but give him a 
change ? He resolved, in infinite wisdom, that it should be to taste of the 
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So He placed before him only that 
way to escape from Paradise; sure that he would, sooner or later, em- 
brace the opportunity afforded him, to pass out of the lovely and beauti- 
ful garden; where perennial bloom and fruit ever adorned the trees; where 
the animals were submissive to man, their master; where no violence 
ever disturbed, no threats ever excited, no horrors ever appalled, the 
peaceful mind of the primitive man. 

This state still exists to many individuals of the human race. They 
have not yet resolved to taste the fruit of the Tree ; the Tree that will re- 
lieve them from confinement, as many have regarded it. They still linger 
with pleasure by the cool fountains, the beauteous groves, the sparkling 
lights, of the ever fresh, and ever new land of Beulah. Happy denizens 
of a blissful Paraidse. Alas ! all happiness that is not founded on Benev- 



19 

olenee is transitory. However long the time they can enjoy Par arise, it 
can never be to an eternity. That world must, at last, be left solidary 
und uninhabited, unless God shall take pleasure in a new creation. This 
He may, or may not, do. He knows : but the angels in heaven know not, 
neither doth any man. 

There is now a period of repose, prepared by the Almighty Ruler and 
Creator for himself. Not that He needs repose, but that He pleases to 
have it. Having labored, or acted, as you may choose to phrase it, He is 
pleased to rest. His rest will be comparatively short. His laws and 
foundations might stand eternally, if he chose. But He prefers to change, 
or modify, them. He might continue in a state of rest eternally j but he 
prefers to make new laws, and lay new foundations ; to have new cre- 
ations. Amid all the wrecks of matter, the chaos of destroyed, or finish- 
ed, or incomplete works, He is ever able to make new worlds, or uni- 
verses, start into being. No variety is too infinite for Him to accomplish. 
No monstrosity is too great, no sameness, or similarity, too trifling for his 
powers. He is Almighty. You admit him to be Almighty; but you do 
not, and can not, realize the meaning and force of the appellation. But 
you could better realize it than you do. Try to. You can conceive that 
no one is so powerful, no one is so good, no one has so much love, and no 
one deserves so much praise, as the Deity. But you can not conceive how 
much of them He has. Because He has an infinite quantity; and you are 
finite. Then, be not caviling against the order of God's creation, and de- 
siring to help Him to reform the world ! What ? you say, not try to re- 
form the world ? When so much wickedness exists in it ! Not at all, I 
say. But, remember, I do not tell you to be idle, or wasteful of your 
time, or means of doing good. By no means. It is to the full exercise of 
these that I urge you. Do all the good you can ; but don't wait for the 
time when you can do it on a large scale. Be faithful in small things, 
and you shall have an opportunity to attend to great ones. When you see 
a brother in distress, relieve him. Is he hungry, give him food; is he 
thirsty, give him drink ; is he in prison, visit him ; is he sick, perform his 
duties for him. Inasmuch as ye do thes > things, even so shall ye have 
praise from those whose praise is the love of God. Inasmuch as ye do 
these things, ye shall have favor with God, and be raised to a Sonship, 
be placed on his right hand, separated unto eternal glory, and made a 
joint heir with Jesus of Nazareth ; the man of sorrows, the acquainted 
with grief, but the beloved Son of God, in whom the Father was well 
pleased ; and for whom He bowed down the heavens, to declare, in a voice 
of thunder, Behold my beloved son ! in whom I am well pleased ! Oh ! 
vdcked and perverse generation ! ye seek after a sign. But were the won- 
derful works wrought in your midst that were done by him in Judea and 
Galilee, eighteen hundred and more years ago, ye, too, would blasphe- 
mously declare, he casts out devils by the prince of devils. Ye, too, 
would cry out, Away with him ; Crucify him ; Crucify him ; We will not 
have him to rule over us; We are CaBsar's subjects. 

Thus far have we proceeded in our History of the Origin of All Things. 
This is, as it were, a preface; an explanation of the plan, by which God 



20 

caused man to appear ; and by which the worlds, and He, are brought into 
harmonious action. The remainder of our present work shall be devoted 
to an illustration of the purposes of God in regard to man, and the means 
by which He will make man eternally happy. 

This part of our subject might be named, The Conclusion of the History 
of Mankind. But I prefer to call it, 

The History of the Future of Man. 



SECOND GRAND DIVISION. 
ORIGIN OF MAN, IN GENERAL, 



CHAPTEE VIII. 



THE FUTURE OF MAN. 



There is no subject on which more speculation has been exercised, 
more ingenuity wasted, more labor lost, than the Future of Man. Placed 
as he was, between two states, of which he was entirely ignorant, it was 
not strange that at first, he should have supposed the condition in which 
he found himself was the only one he ever did, or ever would, enjoy. 
But it soon pleased God to inform him of the Future, so far as to make 
known to him, First, its existence ; Second, its nature ; and Thirdly, its 
design. But yet, this was given darkly ; and man only saw it, as through 
a glass, darkly. Passing along, the vicissitudes of his journey often 
brought man to sigh for repose. The glory of the future was reduced to 
a state of rest ) and the activity of God's servants was supposed to consist 
in praising Him, who alone is beyond praise ; in glorifying Him, whose 
glory can not be exalted. But God was pleased to let man corrupt 
the light he had thrown into their hearts and understandings, by false 
lights; by perversions of his revealments, and misconstructions of mo- 
tives. Having at sundry times clearly shadowed forth the nature of the 
future, it now pleases Him to declare it plainly, through an humble seek- 
er of happiness, who is willing to be taught, and who only desires to re- 
ceive the truth ; and who will receive his reward, by having his patience 
exercised, his motives traduced, his efforts to enlighten his fellow-men 
made abortive. But yet the truth will prevail. God will save mankind. 
And the time will come when the knowledge and love of God will cover 
the earth as the waters cover the sea ; his will be done on earth, as it is in 
heaven : and his servants shall have their daily bread, that cometh down 



21 

from heaven, placed before them, to be received with joy and thankful- 
ness. This will be a joyful time for all who shall see it ; and verily, I 
say, that there be those standing now in the body who. in the body, shall 
see it. Blessed be God, that he has chosen the poor of this world, and the 
humble among men, for the accomplishment of his ends. He will not ap- 
pear as men have expected Him. He never has appeared as they expected 
Him ; and never will He be the mere follower, or fulfiller, of the imaginations 
of men. Alas ! that such blindness resists, that such ignorance defeats, and 
such folly derides, the poor in spirit, and the humble followers and seek- 
ers of truth. Then will be an overturning, an overturning, an overturn- 
ing. The sun will be darkened, and the moon cease to give her light. 
The stars of heaven will fall to the ground, and the heavenly host dis- 
appear, in the day of God's appearing. Then will the mountains be 
called on to hide men from the face of Almighty God; then will 
men get down into the depths of ignorance, and abase themselves be- 
fore idols of flesh ; who can no more save than idols of stone or wood. 
Then will the sea give up its dead, and the graves be opened, and the long 
since departed from the sons of men, reappear to their astonished vision. 
But when will these things be ? not in this state of existence ! Oh ! no. 
The fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, must all 
be raised, when the bodies of men are raised; for they are all one 
flesh. What, then, do I mean to say, and what shall be under- 
stood from my dark sayings ? I mean, that when the soul shall 
have left the body, to the dust from which it came and to which it must 
ever, and forever, return, that then men will see the great day of 
the Lord. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man coming m the 
clouds with great glory. Then will the trump sound, and the dead in sin 
come forth from their lives of ignorance and darkness. Then will appear 
the New Jerusalem, that cometh down from Heaven, arrayed as a bride 
for her husband. Her gates shall be praise, and her streets paved with 
good works. Her glory shall exceed that of the sun, and there shall be no 
night there. Do you desire to be a resident of this beautiful city ? to bo 
the husband of this lovely bride ? You may be. You will be. But it is 
for you to say when. Verily, I say, there be some standing now in the 
body, who shall not taste of death ere they enjoy its embrace and taste its 
happiness. Verily, I say, there be some standing in the body now, that 
shall, when suns, and moons, and earth itself shall have passed away, be 
yet so far from it, that the power of God only shall suffice to bring them 
to the home He designs for all men. Choose ye now, whether ye will 
serve God or Baal. Choose ye now, whether ye will be meek and lowly, 
and acquainted with grief; whether ye will walk in his ways, and fol- 
low his precepts, who suffered at Jerusalem that you might be instruct- 
ed ; who died that you might be saved from the death of sinners ; who 
preached, and prayed, and worked, and suffered, that he might teach man- 
kind how to arrive at the New Jerusalem more speedily ; and so be saved 
from punishment for their errors, from suffering for their sins, from death, 
and the grave. This is the reward he hoped for, and you can see how far 
men have profited by his example. Waste not your time in regret for the 
past. Behold, the door is open. Press forward now, while it is day, for 



22 

the night is approaching in which no man can work. All he can do will 
be to suffer ; and to let the angels, that have worked, work upon him. 
What. then, shall man give to forward his salvation ? Give your heart. 
Let nothing earthly come between you and your God. Commune with 
Him in spirit. Let your spirit have communion with the saints. Let 
there be no man to tell you when to pray, or when to work ; when to 
listen, or when to sing. Work when you find work : pray without ceas- 
ing; sing when you can; and be content with every dispensation of 
God's pleasure. Hear Him whenever He speaks to you, in your heart, in 
that still, small voice, that is not easily heard. Turmoil and strife will 
deaden your sensations ; and the ears that have been well accustomed to 
it, may be easily dead to the voice of God in the heart. But do not be 
proud, oh ! ye followers of Jesus. Do not require that God should himself 
come to you, or manifest his own presence plainly to you. No man can 
see God, and live ; and yet men have seen God ! how is this ? Men see 
God, when they have experienced the elevation of heart that God's spirits 
can give it. They can see Him by the eyes of others : and the mirror that 
reflects his image does it truly. It is. then, a glorious privilege, which few, 
of all that have been born on the earth, have had in the body, of seeing 
God himself pictured on the soul of a fellow man, who was in the spirit- 
world. It is such visions which have made the apparent contradiction. 
It is this saying which has caused so many to stumble, that I now ex- 
plain, when I ask you to be willing to be instructed by God's Son, and 
Sent : by the Holy One of Israel. He was superior to all pride of heart. 
He was a man who delighted in virtue, who walked in humility, who 
ever was ready to help the needy, or feed the hungry. But God was in 
him. through the departed spirits of other men ; who, before him, had sac- 
rificed their lives, their fortunes, and their reputations in his service ; and 
had then been found worthy to loose the seals of the book of Life, and wait on 
God in celestial courts, where every soul is subservient to the higher pow- 
ers ; where principalities, dominions, powers, thrones, and every kind and 
gradation of them, and of other stations, stand before God: willing to 
serve Him in whatever capacity, and in whatever rank, He may desire. 
Their will must be submissive, or they can not be his servants. They 
can not serve two masters. If God rules, well. If not, they die to his 
presence and glory ; they fall into ignorance, doubt, and perplexity. They 
can only recover by faith, and hope of mercy, and help of God's servants 
God wills that his servants shall help one another. By this shall all men 
know that ye are the servants of God, and of his servants. For God's serv- 
ants have servants under them. But the servants do God's will and 
work ; because his upper servants are harmonious, and united with Him. 
Let no man, then, despise God's servants. Receive them as angels. They 
are angels. They are continually praising God, but they praise Him by 
works. They know when the sinner tires of sin ; when he seeks refuge 
in God. They are ready, then, to meet with him; to sup with him; to 
be his waiter ; to bring him messages from God ; and to lead him on his 
way to the Heavenly City. But, behold, how men have lately rejected 
all these servants of God. They have refused to believe them good, 
even. They have feared they would ask them to cast off the pride 



23 

of the age, the lust of the flesh, the hope of their fellow-men being 
doomed to eternal punishment. All these have been urged against 
them, not openly always, but down in the depths of men's hearts ; 
so deep, sometimes, that the man himself scarcely could perceive them if 
he looked ; which he seldom did. And now what shall we do ? We have 
piped unto you, and ye would not dance ) we have played unto you, and 
ye would not sing ; we have urged by affection, we have pleaded by pity, 
we have wept with those who wept, and mourned with mourners. But 
all. except a few, have rejected us. "What will the master of the feast do, 
when He finds his tables are not filled ? Go out ; he will say to us, go 
out, and compel them to come in ! Not by over-bearing their will, but by 
over-mastering their reason. This we must do, and this we shall at once 
begin to do. Prepare, then, to meet your God. 



CHAPTEK IX. 

THE PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 

What shall be the preparation for Death, is an important question. It 
is much dwelt upon by many, who do not know why they should rejoice 
at the change; and feared by many, who want knowledge of the future. 
There is a great want of knowledge among mankind of this preparation, 
and of the want itself. True, men are seen to die, and disappear ; to 
vanish, as it were, forever from their accustomed haunts, and lay them- 
selves upon the shelf of forgetfulness. Some die willingly, some unwill- 
ingly ; but nearly all ignorantly, or recklessly, or defiantly. True, many 
feel a hope, and trust in God's mercy; but it is a hope founded on false 
conceptions of his justice and mercy. Having had some knowledge, exper- 
imentally, of God's goodness and mercy; having experienced his loving 
kindness, and been pardoned manifold sins ; having led many astray in 
the body, and preached falsities to felloAv fools ; we are now prepared, 
well-prepared, to declare to men what they want, and what God wants 
them to have. First, men should have new hearts : Second, they should 
have less pride ; Third, they should cultivate the knowledge of the wants 
of their fellow men: Fourth, they should have patience to wait for death; 
and activity to secure the love that God has for them. To be known as a 
servant of God, implies that you obey his directions, follow his rules, and 
attend to every intimation he may please to give. This is only what you 
require of your servants. Why, then, do you complain that God is a hard 
master, reaping where he has not sown, and gathering what he strewed 
not ? Why do you complain that God is not kind, or he would have laid 
all obstacles away from you, and given you a seat upon his right hand, to 
judge one of the tribes of the earth ! My friend, you want a new heart, 
in which love of God shall be the first principle of action ; in which that 
action shall be exerted in relieving your fellow-men from affliction ; from 
every kind of want, bodily or spiritual. tt is these works that Jesus did. 



24 

It is these that he preached. He healed the sick : he restored the lame, 
the blind, the halt in every way. He walked in humility ; and he died 
contemned by his generation. So it may be with you. Do you want to 
be like him ? To be led a life of suffering, and die a death of agony ? 
No ! I hear you say, I can not bear that ! How, then, can you follow 
him ? You call yourself a follower of Christ : do you not ? And how 
do you follow him ? My people have not known me ; nay, they are all 
gone astray ; there is none good, no not one. Such would be his excla- 
mation now, were you willing to hear him. Such, he will say, whether 
you hear him, or not. Alas ! ye ignorant church members ! Ye are no 
better than church members were two thousand years ago. Your fathers 
killed the prophets ; and you would now offer up the new philosophers on 
the same altar of ignorance, folly, and the love of self, if you had the pow- 
er. Is it to you, then, that I must address myself? Yes, it is even you. 
whom I now call on. I ask you to throw off all dependence on man, 
whose breath is in his nostrils ; but not to be afraid of man, whose life is a 
breath everlasting. "Who till now have watched, and prayed, and desired, 
with great desire, the day of the Lord that now approaches. The day so 
long expected by the Christian church has already dawned, and its sun 
will not go backward. Come unto me, then, all ye heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest. You will no longer be required to give tithes of mint 
and cummin, while you devour widows' houses. No more be sent to hell 
for a want of belief, or placed in heaven for a profession of it. No, I only 
ask works of you ; sure that you will not do the works unless you have 
faith. What ! I hear you say, shall it be thought of no consequence what 
men believe ? Shall infidels be saved by morality ? Oh, no, my friends ; 1 
do not say any such thing. I say, again, you can not do the works that 
I call you to, without faith. And then, I say, most firmly and decidedly, 
that you can not be saved by works. I say nothing can save you but God's 
mercy. Not that I mean that you would deserve eternal punishment for 
a few years of venial sins : but, that God has chosen to show mercy ; and 
he will save you from the consequences of sin. These consequences 
would extend beyond the grave, and would be felt in other generations, 
were it not for God's infinite mercy ; which, being continually exercised, 
saves you from continuing to commit sin to all eternity. Now, is not 
that a new idea, that you would thus deserve eternal punishment for con- 
tinual, unending sin ? But, blessed be God for his infinite mercy. Though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool. Though your sins be le- 
gion, your Father's power and goodness can overthrow them and their 
consequences. But, does He ask nothing in return from man? Yes, He 
asks man to be grateful ; to love him ; to fear his anger, which is his hate; 
or wrath, which is the absence of his love. Nothing more ; for God is not 
subject to passion, or fits of rage. No : calmness is never absent from 
God. Does not the whole creation move in harmony? How, then, 
should God be angered, as men are, when their work goes wrong ? Why 
should God hate, when he can exterminate and destroy ? Annihilation is 
in his power ; but it would only be by his absorbing the soul of man. 
For out of God it proceeded ; and, thus it is, that of all his works, only 
this is immortal. God can not die, or be destroyed. To suppose it, would 



25 

be folly. Neither can any part of Him die, or be destroyed. Because, if 
part could be, the whole might be destroyed in parts. 

What, then, do I call you to perform, in preparation for death ? Not a 
sudden change of all your habits, and emotions, and mode of thinking. 
No ; I ask you only to listen to God, who will teach his children of his 
ways, who will write his law on their hearts, who will put it in their in- 
ward parts. Who will enter in, and sup with you, and you with Him, in 
a holy and blessed communion ; which no one can partake of without the 
preparation of a willing mind and a changed heart. A heart changed 
from evil to good ; from self to God : from all that relates to earth to such 
as relates to Heaven. How will you obtain all these blessings, which, 
you will easily admit, are most desirable, and are also proper preparations 
for death ? 

I will tell you what to do. For, since the day in which Pilate asked, 
What is truth ? the question has never been fully answered. Indeed, its 
answer has hardly been attempted. Shall I venture to declare it now? 
Will the world, so full of pride, of arrogance, of crime, and of self-esteem, 
receive my answer ? Given, too, through so humble a medium as I am 
now using. A man whose religious notions have never been approved by 
any society of men, though he has belonged to one, by a chance ; who has 
departed from the faith he formerly held, and who now is willing to re- 
ceive truth from heavenly sources, without asking the spirit whence it 
comes, or whither it goes. Who is willing to believe himself in God\s 
hands, without requiring that only God should handle him. Who has not 
felt the love of God in his heart till he was sure that God loved him, by 
reason of his goodness and of his nature ; till he had reason and revela- 
tion agreeing in his mind to declare, that what is good comes from God ; 
and evil can not proceed from a good and pure source; but that man 
must be saved by God's mercy, if saved at all ; because, of himself he can 
do nothing, accomplish no good, and withstand no temptation. Who has 
often and often prayed to know the truth, and be brought under its heav- 
enly teachings by Divine aid. 

How, then, will I answer you, ye scoffers, when this faithful asker has 
waited so long unanswered; and while groping, as it were, in the dark, 
has so often fancied he saw light, and has as often found himself deceived, 
and left unsatisfied ? But I will address myself to him and to you, to 
high and low, rich and poor, noble and ignoble, priest and flock, be- 
liever and unbeliever, till all who are willing to receive the truth in its 
simplicity, by its internal evidence, shall be convinced ; till all that are 
willing to be more blessed than was the disciple Thomas, shall have re- 
ceived their blessing. Then will God's thunders roar out conviction to 
stubborn fools and graceless scamps, who choose to serve their lusts ; who 
fear to receive the truth, because it would deprive them of their trades : 
who having long lived in the enjoyment of the world, are unwilling to 
leave it for a dark aud doubtful future; unwilling to trust to God's mer- 
cy, but preferring to trust to a stock of service treasured up for them, 
through the works of fellow-men, who were themselves only saved by 
God's mercy. Alas ! in that day the sun shall be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall to the ground. 



26 

and disappear forever. And what kind of bodies wall these stars, and 
sun, and moon, prove to be ? Nought but the lofty dignitaries of the sev- 
eral hierarchies that usurp power over the bodies and souls of men. Their 
power was given them for a season, but in one hour it shall be destroyed. 
Then shall the multitude, standing afar off, weep for the destruction that 
shall come upon all flesh. The ships that go down to Tarshish, and those 
that get the gold of Ophir, shall mourn ; for no man will buy their mer- 
chandise any more. Alas ! alas ! they will say, for that great city ! 
which consumed the fruits of the labor of men; which was so splendid, 
and so overgrown : so lofty, and so grand in its claims ; so powerful, and 
so full of the glory of men ! 

Now, all these things have been prophesied of before, and ye have sought 
to give them private interpretations. No scripture is of private interpre- 
tation. The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But do not suppose 
that the sense must, necessarily, be obscure, because you must take its 
spirit. On the contrary, reason will greatly aid you in understanding 
scripture : and without reason it can not be understood ; and without the 
exercise of reason you can not understand it. True, the wayfaring, or 
plain, common- sense man, can not err therein. But those who strain for 
effect, and swallow impossibilities, can never be right in their construction. 

There are many things I have to say to you, but ye can not bear them 
now; was said long ago by one whom you admit, knew what was best for 
those who heard him. But now. if I say it. you will hardly be satisfied. 
You will call on me to stand and deliver. You will try to obtain by force, 
or by threats, what is not yours ; and to make your way to heaA r en as a 
thief and a robber. But you caij. not succeed in any part of this plan. 
For, I shall only say what God authorizes me to say : and that is only 
what you are prepared to hear with some kind of patience. If I should 
declare all to you, you would be overwhelmed ; and would despair of ever 
being found worthy to receive God"s mercy, though it is as infinite as any s 
other part of Him, and as necessary to his perfection as life itself. What, 
then, is to be done? I shall refer you to the Comforter. The Spirit of 
God. He shall come to you, and teach you all things, even the deep 
things of God. And now, it is expedient that I go away to the next part 
of my subject ; or you would never be willing to receive any other Comfort- 
er than this outward address of God through your bodily senses. But, 
when you are willing, the Comforter will take up his abode in your heart, 
and will address himself to you spiritually; His voice will be heard re- 
buking you, in the cool of the day. He will be found prompting you to 
good works, to lofty aspirations, to every thing that will elevate and re- 
fine ; and he will warn you with pleadings of love, ere he leaves you. if 
you once admit him to your heart. How long, oh ! wicked and perverse 
generation, shall I strive with you '? I swear, saith God, that I will not 
always strive with man, whose breath is in his nostrils, and who goeth 
down to the pit. No : I will raise him, even at the expense of his free- 
will, if necessary. But it shall not be necessary, and the day of salvation 
is at hand ! Repent ye, for I wall not be put off. 

This language, you say, is all assumed : for I have not shown that God 
has authorized me to speak for him. I ought, you say, to do some work : 



27 

to perform some miracle ; to establish some church, where the authorized 
body might speak for God. and assume power over men. But I, wLo am 
a servant of God, in unity with his other trusted servants, and desirous to 
only do his will, care not for reproach, or sneers. He saved others, now 
let him save himself ! was once said, to the greatest miracle-worker the 
earth ever saw. And how was it received ? Father ! forgive them : 
they know not what they do ! Alas ! that men should, in eighteen hund- 
red years, have made no more progress than to repeat the sayings of their 
fathers, who stoned the prophets, and destroyed the sons of the prophets, 
and cast down the altars they had erected to the living God. 



CHAPTEK x. 

WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY BE FOUND'? 

Where shall the ungodly be found, when even the righteous shall 
scarcely be saved ? This is a great question, involving the whole policy 
of God, in his relations to man in the future state. The future state is a 
state of passiveness to evil, and activity of good. Men get better, but 
they are not allowed to get worse. They struggle only for good. If evil 
approaches they receive it not. It is repelled from them, as the similar 
poles of a magnet repel each other. The influence of evil does not act 
positively. It exists, because the spirit of man has imbued itself in it ; 
and it must be left to free itself, by wasting, or wearing out, or it must be 
overcome with good. Overcome evil with good, is an injunction which 
men must act on in this life, and in that which is to come. How this is 
done, I -will briefly sketch in another chapter. For I am resolved now to 
proceed more methodically, as I find the medium willing, and passive, and 
patient. All truth is deeply hidden by ignorance and by pride. Humil- 
ity is the condition of truth ; and truth is the gift of a benevolent God to 
its seekers. Truth, then, can be obtained by seeking it ; and the only ob- 
stacle to its triumphant dominion, is the unwillingness of men, in general, 
to receive it. They are unwilling to confess their errors, and to make 
restitution of the goods they have robbed from others. Who would now 
follow the example of Levi, who, when his Lord, and master of instruction. 
rat down at his table in his own house, like unto being in his heart, de- 
clared if he had wronged any man, he restored unto him fourfold : and 
this, after having given half his goods to the poor ? Many, too many by 
far. now think if they give to a church, or a churchly object, they have 
made amends for a life of extortion. But you know full well that no such 
doctrine was ever taught by Him, who taught as man had not taught, 
when he was a resident of earth in the body. What, then, shall we say to 
the seeker after truth ? and what to him who refuses to receive it '? To 
the latter we say, it would be better you had never been born ; had al- 
ways remained in the Paradisical state. To the former, that the seeker 
shall find : and to him who asks shall be given abundantly ; good meas- 



28 

ure, heaped up and overflowing. For God, who loveth a cheerful giver 
is one himself who is unexcelled in generosity. And the only man who 
can want, while God has good things to bestow, is he who, filled with 
pride and conceit, cries out, Begone, all ye workers of iniquity ! begone, all 
ye deceivers ! I will have none of your new-fangled dreams, none of 
your new philosophies, none of your spiritual guides ! I have one guide, 
the Bible, as the Jews had one father, Moses . and as he was sufficient for 
them, so is it for me ! But let me say, I will trust in God, and he shall 
be the portion of every soul that desires to bring forth good fruit, and 
work righteousness. 

We have, thus far, looked only at the reason of the matter, and placed 
our reliance on your willingness to be convinced. Because a man can 
close his mind to reason, we must also address his feelings. We shall ap- 
peal to his humanity, to ask whether he could be happy if his children 
were in hell, and he in heaven ? Could God be happy if his creatures 
suffered eternally and unhopingly ? No man can, from his heart, say Yes. 
The very beasts would deride him, and devils would gloat over his supe- 
rior heartlessness. There is in every man a repugnance to believe as 
much of this kind of doctrine as churches, generally, make them say they 
do. Look at the Roman Church, declaring that only its members can, by 
any possibility, be saved. Do its officers and subjects act upon such a 
belief ? Oh, no ! or, if they do, it is only some deep scheme of deception, 
for they are not shocked and melancholy at the indifference with which 
the greater part of the world is going along the path of eternal damnation ! 
Is the English Episcopal Church any better in this respect ? They, too, 
require membership by baptism, to insure salvation. They, too, feel that 
it is not true ; for they comfort their Quaker friends, who lose a lovely in- 
fant, by the declaration, that it is in Jesus' bosom ; or, God has taken the 
lovely blossom to himself, to save it from the rude winds and storms of 
this wandering life. Have they the boldness to declare, My friends, your 
child went to hell, because you did not have it baptized, as God has ap- 
pointed, and Christ preached, and we practice ? No ; never would they 
be so impolite, so heartless, so inhuman, so devilish. That is a proof that 
it is not true that the child did go to hell ; for if it had been really in dan- 
ger of such a fate, you would have rather baptized it by stealth than have 
it suffer eternal hell-fire. But yet, you have other friends, not belonging 
to Episcopal churches, whose children have not been baptized ; why do 
you not rush to them, and plead, and beg, and entreat ; weep, and wail, 
and lament \ till you persuade the parents, at least, to let you baptize the 
innocent babe ; the unconscious infant, that must be otherwise condemned 
for its progenitors' fall from grace and happiness ? Alas, I might go 
through with the creed of every church, till I had manifested what is ap- 
parent to ordinary observation, if exercised, that they, none of them, be- 
lieve what they profess, and all have erected an impossible standard of 
faith ; while they almost equally discard and reject practicing the legit- 
imate consequences of that faith. While they nearly all require faith as 
the one thing needful, not one has it. How, then, shall any be saved ? 
God : s mercy is infinite. Blessed be God, who will have sinners to be 
saved. And they shall be saved ! because He wills it ! 



29 



CHAPTER XL 

THE SOUL OF MAN IN THE FUTURE STATE. 

There is a soul in every man, immortal, unchangeable in quality or 
essence, invisible to bodily eyes, but breathing and living as separately, 
and as permanently separate from God, as the body is from earth, so long 
as he chooses to maintain its organization and individuality. Why this 
soul is hampered and restrained, why it is oppressed by animal passion 
and darkened by error, is explained in the previous pages. But how is it 
to be freed and released from the stains imparted to it by its union and 
alliance with the body, is a deeper and more complex subject, which must, 
be treated with more exactness and logical method, to carry conviction to 
impartial and willing seekers of truth. I shall, therefore, divide this part 
of my subject into three chapters, or sections. First, what man should do 
while in the body. Second, what change death makes in his relation to 
God and his fellow-men. And, Third, what he must do to be saved with 
an eternal salvation. 

Section First : What must be done in the body. Man, being born to 
trouble, as sparks that fly upward are prone to descend j man, being 
placed here for the express purpose of receiving instruction in the knowl- 
edge of good and evil by experience, has no escape from temptation. He- 
must suffer it. He can not escape from the consequences of his condition 
any more than he can escape from his condition. To be sure, some think 
that by suicide they may escape from this condition of existence. But. 
such are mistaken. They only fulfill the appointed term of their bodily- 
life, and fall, by the last and greatest temptation, into the next stage of 
being : where they soon perceive what opportunities they have wasted, 
what mercy rejected, what folly exercised, and what useless, and worse 
than useless, sin they have committed, by taking into their own hands the 
prerogative of the Deity, and closing an existence he designed should then 
end. But, if they must have then died, why did they not wait for God 
himself, by his laws, to dissolve their connection with the body ? Because 
they could not, or would not, resist the temptation which evil thoughts, 
rebellious designs, and selfish considerations, placed before them. They 
fell, and left mourning friends, disgraced relations, fond children or parents. 
or weeping brothers or sisters ; or, at least, they fell into condemnation for 
violating the law of God written on the heart, which is the unpardonable 
sin. Let us proceed to see what should be the duty of men thus tempted : 
as this is the sorest temptation that besets men, and is, also, one of the 
most common. My medium has been beset by it, and I know that few 
men have lived to maturity, or, at the farthest, to old age, without having 
been beset by it frequently. It offers such a ready solution of the most 
overwhelming difficulties, such a sudden relief from care and anxiety, that 



30 

sometimes its almost unending consequences are overlooked, and the suf- 
fering that others must experience from the rash act is disregarded. It is 
the highest, or the extreme, manifestation of selfishness. The heart of 
man is never so desperately wicked as when it resolves to disregard all 
law, human and divine ; to overlook every obligation of friendship, love, 
and the debts of nature and of business : and, placing the means of des- 
truction where his life must be extinguished by them, rushes violently, 
with robber-like audacity, at the kingdom of heaven. 

The next greatest sin is the sin of living for yourselves. To die for 
yourselves is suicide. To live for yourselves is murder. Yes ! murder is 
only its highest, or extreme, manifestation. Theft, robbery, arson, murder. 
are only steps in the ladder of crime : all ending in one object, the serving 
of self: and liable to, and receiving, one condemnation, that of the with- 
drawal of God's mercy for a time. He leaves man to do his own will till 
he is willing to accept of other guidance. When man finds that all these 
selfish gratifications result in bitterness, and death to enjoyment, he some- 
times, even in this life, will reform. That is, he will open his heart to 
God's influence, who, through his agents the ministers, the servants, the 
angels, the messengers, the spirits, or the demons, as they are variously 
denominated in the translation called the Bible, will visit and help him 
unto salvation. 

We will now take up the second section of our subject, that of the 
change which death of the body makes in the relations of man to his Cre- 
ator. 

Section Second : Man, being never released from death, except through 
suffering, seldom deliberately resolves to seek it. He often contemplates 
suicide, but seldom braves it. When, at last, Death presents himself to 
the sick, suffering has worn the body and tried the soul of man. He has, 
by God's mercy, lain for days in a favorable position for seeing the vanity 
and nothingness of every occupation that only had self in view, and feels 
sensitively the need he has of God's mercy and loving kindness to raise him 
from the deep pit in which he finds himself sunk. Much work, efficient 
work, is often done on these beds of suffering ; and the soul, by a day of 
suffering, gains years, and sometimes myriads of years, advance in the 
great work of reconciling itself to God. Albeit, many good resolutions are 
broken by temptations succeeding an unexpected recovery ; although the 
last state of that man is worse than the first, he having ejected the pres- 
ence of God and the communion of his spirits, or saints, he was neverthe- 
less sincere : and, therefore, actually, at that time as much reconciled 
to God as he appeared to be. But let no one put off the work till the 
morrow, much less to the death-bed ', for you know not what a day may 
bring forth. Ye know not that time and sense will be left to you for re 
pentance then. Work now, while the day lasts, for the night cometh, 
when no man can work. The night is the next stage of existence, in 
which no man can work out his salvation ; but he is worked upon as he 
is willing. He is acted upon by God's higher spirits, persuaded by exam- 
ple, taught by precept, instructed by his memory of his earthly experience. 
He is never forced to receive the good, but he is never allowed to pursue 
the evil. He maybe inactive and unprogressrve. but, every step he does 



31 

take is one reducing his distance from God, one leaving error and sin be- 
hind. He then marches forward; every step being easier than the preced- 
ing : every step reducing his toil, increasing his enjoyment : every step en- 
lightening his pathway with good actions and wishes ; and with meek 
regrets and kinc 1 wishes to others, and for others, he proceeds on his way 
rejoicing more and more, till at last having reached the circle in which he 
can see God, he bursts forth into praise. He declares himself his serv- 
ant, begs to be allowed to view Him always, to serve him forever, in any 
position it may please God to place him ; and, in harmony with God, and 
with the servants of God, he proceeds at an accelerated pace. The 
mighty roll of time, ceaselessly beating on the shores of eternity, is faintly 
heard in these lofty and distant halls, or mansions, of bliss. The echoes 
of the past are no longer reverberating through the ears of the former 
inhabitants of the earth. Spirits of the great and good, as measured by 
God, commingle. They harmonize most perfectly; they have one will 
and one law, one power and one wish, one love and one hope; and, all 
these being common and joint, are equally common to and joint with God. 
They harmonize with God ; they fall down, as it were, at his feet, united 
to him by the closest bonds of love, and united by a resolution to have no 
will but his, to exercise no power but his, to feel no desire he does not 
implant, to have no motive of action, no action, no feeling, no love, but 
God's. Being, in this state, one with him, they are sons of God; joint 
heirs with Christ; seated, with him. on the right hand of God, from 
whence they shall come with Christ, and one with him, being themselves 
Christ, to judge the quick and the dead ; to enter into every soul that is 
willing to receive them, and to lead that soul to God, even as they were 
led. Some will find it hard to believe that they may be, and shall be, as 
Christ. That they shall be really Christ. But it is because they mis- 
take the nature of Christ. Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It 
is the love of God unending : which is, and was, and will be evermore. 
It is the son of God, born of purity, led into suffering, raised into power, 
and seated on the right hand of God, where, in wisdom and power of God, 
it rules the world, the whole creation, by its oneness with God. And its 
oneness makes it God. For things which are one and the same are not sep- 
arate, or unlike. Not separate ; but, yet, not merged in God. Possess- 
ing still an individuality, this Christ is made of all the good and great in 
righteousness. All ages of the world, and all celestial, or planetary, 
bodies in the universe, contribute to its formation and fullness. Jesus of 
Nazareth, a man approved of God, was the first of the inhabitants of earth 
who was raised by God to this high, and holy, and immaculate position. 
Jesus is our great exemplar : and his precepts, preached, as they have been, for 
eighteen hundred years, are now to be preached again in a new form, but 
not in new substance. 

And this brings me to my third section ; namely, the duties of man, or 
the way in which he is to work out his own salvation with fear and tremb- 
ling. 

Let us proceed in order, and by order show how orderly God is in what 
he requires of man. First, in childhood ; second, in maturity; and third, 
in old age. 



32 

Section Third, Part First : When a child is born, the soul is received 
into its body at its first inspiration. Its first sensation is pain ; and this 
is wise, for thereby it is prepared for pleasure and enjoyment, which re- 
quires previous pain for its perfection. When in the course of nature, as 
it is called, the child grows, and begins to show signs of intelligence, the 
activity of the soul commences. We must remember the spirit, or soul, 
has heretofore been in a passive state. That activity has to be learned, as 
well as every thing else that God does not implant. Now, when it has 
further advanced, the signs of intelligence become stronger, and language 
is learned. Language in the beginning was an inspiration of God. With- 
out his inspiration its perfection could never have been attained, for all the 
efforts of the learned and powerful can not produce a perfectly original 
language. But, the language once given has been variously modified and 
diversified ; and though all derived from one original source, the lapse of 
many ages of years, of many transitions through ignorant mediums, of di- 
versity of situation, and of race, as varieties of men are termed, have so 
changed language, that it is now infinite in variety ; or, at least, appears 
so to men ; for, besides the thousands of languages, there are to each an 
almost unending variation in different individuals ; some so great as to be 
called dialects, and others, only the remains of a variety, or form, formerly 
existing. Having acquired language, the child exercises his newly-acquired 
faculty like a toy. He asks questions for the pleasure it affords him to 

But, in the course of time, 
others linger in the 
pursuit of this pleasure all their lives, and talk for the pleasure of hearing 
themselves talk. So it is with the various faculties of our bodily nature ; 
they are connected with our souls, and they have their antitypes in the 
soul, which the type brings into use. Thus, reverence for parents is the 
type of reverence for our Heavenly Father. Veneration for great men is 
the type of veneration for God. And so on, through the list. Now, when 
the soul has thus been educated by the body, it has partaken of the fruit 
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil ; and it must then pass through 
the opening called death into the spirit- world, where it finds its eternal 
home. 

Whatever qualities the father, or mother, would find in the character 
of their offspring, must be implanted by some one. They are not fixed or 
natural, but acquired. The soul of the child is first pure. The tablet of 
its mind is blank ; unwritten upon. Its memory of the past is merged in 
the future with its memory of earth, and are both taken as one. The pas- 
siveness of the first period of existence leaves almost no impression upon 
the soul. But, God further obscures that memory while in the body by 
the body's constitution, which does not take cognizance of any thing that was 
not experienced in itself. So that memory of the first state is impossible 
while in the body, and only returns to the spirit in the next world by slow 
degrees. First, as a part of its earthly existence, but afterward it separ- 
ates itself as the spirit advances, and as its new relation to God requires 
it to possess the knowledge of its former condition, in order that his per- 
fect love, wisdom, and benevolence may be fully manifest. The child, 
then ? is pure and innocent till passion or example has led it to sin. How 



careful, then, parents ought to be to set examples of patience, long-suffer- 
ing, goodness of every kind, before their children, from the very first dawn 
of their intellect. This period commences very early, a few days, at the 
farthest, from their birth. 

Having shown what examples ought to be set before the children, wo 
will suppose every care exercised to secure their continuance in a state of 
innocence and purity. Then the passions are to be controlled and regula- 
ted by the child itself, for the parent can never fully, and scarcely even 
imperfectly, restrain the child's passion. The child's education should 
proceed on the plan of forming his character, so that he will, of himself, 
walk in the paths of virtue, and resist temptations. Then, the work is 
done for life. The child is the father to the man. Train up a child in 
the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it, was 
the advice of a wise man ; and wise men will ever bear in mind, as is the 
tree, so is its fruit. 

When youth begins, the child has, already implanted, the seeds of good 
and evil. Careful culture may yet weed out much of the latter, and 
cause the remainder to be overshadowed by the former. But the die is, 
in a great measure, cast as to the happiness or misery of the youth. He 
must follow the impulses of nature, if he has not been taught to restrain 
his desires and modify his actions by love of others. How. then, shall 
those parents be excused for their neglect, who have failed so to train 
their children? Surely their sins will be visited upon their children, 
even to the third and fourth generation. And so it is that such small 
advances are made by all the wise and prudent of this world. God will 
not let them be the ruin of more than one generation, except in a few in- 
stances. He restrains their progress in sin, by cutting off their children, 
or, by throwing the children into such circumstances as to relieve them 
from the example and precept of the neglectful, or incompetent, parent. 
What God can do to restrain evil, without infringing the free-will of man, 
and without debarring him from the experience necessary to the soul's en- 
joyment of eternal happiness, he does. But man, ungrateful ever, or often, 
mourns and repines at the dispensations by which this good, or saving 
from evil, is effected. Who will be willing to submit all things to God's 
pleasure, in perfect' confidence that his will and government are wise and 
good ? None now living, I think, I may safely say ; and yet, one such 
lived among men. One example has been given. And, how was it that 
he attained to such superior excellence, and remained ever in his original 
purity ? Because his father and his mother listened to God ; who res- 
trained every evil influence, every impure desire, and led them in peace 
and purity from city to city, and from Judea to Egypt. There, dwelling 
in quiet solitude, they trained the holy infant, and led innocent lives. 
They returned, filled with God's holy influence, to Jerusalem ; and settled 
in Nazareth. Here, other sons and daughters were born to them ; but, 
the circumstances of their position were so different, that these children 
were not remarkable, or distinguished readily, from their fellow-citizens. 
True, they received, late and reluctantly, the precepts and example, the 
life and death, of their extraordinary brother, as evidence of his divine 
character, as being the Messiah so long promised to their nation. But 

3 



34 . 

they, after all, were not emancipated from the traditions against which he 
preached, and never ceased to observe the ceremonies from which Jesus 
desired to emancipate them. Their descendants, too, continued to differ 
from their Christian brethren; until, at last, they were scattered and 
overthrown in the rebellions and tumults that destroyed their nation, and 
almost exterminated their Church. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE SOUL OF MAN HERE ON EARTH. 

Part Second, of Section Third : Having shown how the child should 
be trained, let us now proceed to consider how the man should act. Vir- 
tue is its own reward. Because the consequences of virtue are happiness. 
Because nothing but purity can result from its practice. Because the vir- 
tuous man is holy, and dependent upon God. For, without God's help 
he would not have practiced virtue ; and without His continued assist- 
ance he would not refrain from evil. It is, then, to God we must appeal : 
entreating Him to aid us, to enlighten us : to be our ever-present guide, 
and powerful helper. If God be on our side, who shall overcome us ? 
Not the prince of this world, nor all the temptations, that may be com- 
pared to the gates of hell. Never ! can any thing prevail against God. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SOUL OF MAN CONSIDERED IN ITS EVENTUAL RELATION TO GOD. 

What, then, shall we say '? Shall we say that God does all ? Not so. 
He only helps the man to do what the man wills to do, if the desire, or 
will, be good ; or lets him alone, or restrains him, if it be evil. He, him- 
self, does nothing, except through his agents, the spirits before described. 
But even they do nothing but help in the man's will, and keep themselves 
on the alert to aid every good thought, every lofty desire, every pure as- 
piration. They ever watch the movement of his will, and the instant 
that the man opens his heart's door, by a willingness to receive God's help, 
they rush in, and embrace him, as it were, with tears of jo^. But, too 
often are they as suddenly thrust out. But if man, in the body, was told 
he must forgive his brother, who had offended him four hundred and 
ninety times, shall not God's mercy and patience extend as far beyond that 
as infinity exceeds man's finite being ? Well, then, again and again do 
God's angels ask for admittance. Again and again do they crowd into 
man's heart, and commence the work of purification. While he remain* 
willing and passive, they stay. But when evil desires or resolu lions in- 



35 

vade the sanctuary, they can not stay; for good and evil are antagonistic, 
and repel each other. They may linger long enough to warn, to entreat, 
to sigh or to weep for the misfortunes which man will receive, and suffer 
from, in consequence of his evil. But the will of man is free and uncon- 
trolled. Without that, where would be responsibility? No one but God 
can control man's will, and He will not do it. He designed man for this 
very state of checkered existence ; and when his creation and laws were 
completed, He pronounced them good. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD's MERCY IS EXERCISED. 

Part Third, of Section Third : Now, for our last section, or part, on 
old age. Man has conjectured, that if the laws of health were duly at- 
tended to, he might prolong his life almost indefinitely. This is not so. 
Threescore years and ten is the appointed time to which health should 
bring a man. His usefulness is then, generally, at an end : and if his 
life be prolonged, it is one of passiveness, or repining. This, too, like all 
God's laws, is wisdom. The man who passes his seventieth year has 
lived long enough to experience all that is necessary to his future enjoy- 
ment. To continue to encumber the earth, would be a waste of eternity. 
But some will say, that life might still be a blessing if health and strength 
were maintained. So it might. It is a kind of blessing, too, when it is 
not. For dispensations are blessings. But it is better, as Paul said, to be 
with God, than to remain. And if so, why desire to remain? Perhaps 
you say, he might reform, or progress here. Alas ! by that time the tree 
is dry and hard. It will no more yield to guidance. As the branches 
had been bent in youth, so they stand in age, only more stiff and gnarled. 
The storms that bent it once can bend it no more. It may break, but not 
yield. It can die, but it can not bring forth fruit. Poor old creature, it is 
better, far better, to be with God, than to remain in the strife and turmoil 
of an active and vigorous generation, that knew you not in your prime. 
That have changed their fashions, modified their laws, progressed with 
inventions, leaving you sole landmark for past spirits, sole remnant of 
the olden time. 

And, why was it that men in former days lived nearly a thousand 
years ? Because, then, mankind were so new to existence, that they had 
to take more time to pass through the same experience. The earth was 
unpeopled ; and longer lives insured a numerous offspring. The experi- 
ence of the past was valuable, because it had originated in revelation, and 
was handed down by tradition. Old men were then the lights of the 
world; now, it is in the breasts of young men that are found the 
springs of progress. Then, the struggle was rather to retain than pro- 
gress ; but now, retention is left to take care of itself, and progress is the 
one idea. But, you will say the change was sudden ; the reasons given 



should only have made it gradual. True ; when the world had been 
peopled completely, it pleased God to destroy the race of man, with a few 
exceptions. But the reasons for this are foreign to our subject, and are, 
to this generation, unimportant. Suffice it, that men formerly lived 
longer, because they were needed on earth ; but that the necessity having 
passed away, they are released from the bondage of the body sooner. So 
far from repining at this change, men should rejoice ; for, though eternity 
does not measure time, nor time, eternity, yet a thousand years are a long 
time to be away from God, and to be committing sins to be atoned for. 

There is no repentance beyond the grave. There, atonement is re- 
quired ; not that of one for another, but each for himself. Being, then, de- 
rived from the past, and proceeding to the future, the soul longs to reach 
its goal. But the fetters of sin are strong. The will of the spirit is weak. 
Its struggles, therefore, are tedious to watch over and pray over. But all 
these things we convert into pleasures by doing them cheerfully. By only 
desiring to act as pleases God we have a reward, the praises of Well 
done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful in small things, 
I will make thee ruler over much. So we proceed, helping others, and 
blessing or being blessed, by it, till we arrive at the Sonship ; when, in- 
deed, we become the ruler over much. For, to the Son are all things 
given. 

The last enemy is death. Not the outward death of the body, but the 
inward death of the spirit of man. This is death to God, till it repents, 
or atones for, its sins. Repentance is an act of will; atonement is a pun- 
ishment received. Choose now, oh ! man, whether you will serve your- 
self, or God. If God, repent, and sin no more. If self, sin, and be pun- 
ished. Your punishment shall not be eternal, nor so dreadful as hell-fire; 
but it may extend over myriads of years, and be greater than you 
would now think you could bear, could you foresee and understand it. 
Let the Spirit, then, persuade you, by the mercies of God, by the love of 
his Son, by the tears of your brethren, by the woes of your children, by 
the despair of the fallen, by the hope of the raised, to put your trust in 
God ; to lean on his protecting arm ; to commune with his saints ; to be 
received up into glory, eternal, incorruptible, and unspeakable. 

But I foresee that many will reject the counsel of the spirits, because 
they come not with power. Power to make signs, and wonders, and mir- 
acles, that should, if possible, deceive the very elect, is theirs. Why. 
then, do they not exercise it ? you say. Raise the dead for me, show my 
brother the hole in the side ; let me experience heaven on earth, let him 
be damned to eternal torture ; then I will believe, you say. Alas ! my 
friend, you ask too much ; to sit on my right hand, or on my left, is not 
mine to give ; but it will be given to them for whom it was designed from 
the foundation of the world. How, then, you say, can I escape condemna- 
tion and suffering, if election was made so long ago as to the fate of every 
man? Thou fool ! whether is God, or man, to be confounded by thy im- 
pertinent questions ? Yet I will answer you according to your folly : 
and also, not according to your folly. First ; the elect will be saved, be- 
cause they will never sin ! Second ; they will not sin, because they are 
the elect ! Now. for the other answer ; not according to folly, but by 



37 

wisdom of God. The elect shall be saved, because they elect to be. 
They shall not sin, because they will do the will of God. They will 
do the will of God, because they will seek to know it, and ask his help ; 
and he will be found a very present helper. Are any weak in the faith ? 
receive them; not to doubtful disputation. Would that this were the 
law now in all the churches, as it was once in Corinth. Alas ! how are 
the mighty fallen, and how are the bold cast down ! Where are the 
churches that disputed the Cross of Christ ? Where are the proud 
Christians of Asia Minor, of Thrace and of Greece, of Egypt and of Africa ? 
Where ? Where ? Their poor remains, sunk in superstition, are little re- 
moved from the barbarism of savages and the worship of images. Idols 1 
will not call them, for even Pagan Greece and Italy had more seemly ones. 
But how much better is Rome? Precious was the deposit of faith there. 
Paul preached, and Peter suffered ; but their successors have gone astray, 
and follow not the precepts of the holy Jesus. His kingdom was not of 
this world, but theirs is. He was meek and lowly, and had not where to 
lay his head. They live in pomp, and idleness, and in sumptuous ap- 
parel, and in palaces. They claim that it is religion that is honored in 
honoring them. But he gave glory, honor, and power to the Father. 
Need I follow down the successors of the apostles, as they style them- 
selves, to the details of their lives, or the scandal of their flock ? Need I 
lay bare the mystery of iniquity that exists not only in the churches of the 
East and West, or the Catholic and the Protestant, but even among those 
who love to be styled the humble followers of George Fox ? Alas ! all 
are gone astray. There is none good ; no, not one. They shall all perish 
before my face, saith God ; and their place shall be found of them no more. 
They shall vanish as a scroll; and fire from heaven shall consume them. 
Alas ! what ingenuity has been wasted, what agonies suffered, what tor- 
tures inflicted, in the name of the meek and lowly Jesus of Nazareth ! 
He drove, with stripes, from his Father's temple, those who sold doves 
and made a trade of religion ; and so will he, in effect, do again. For he 
can not abide in their evil hearts, and he must go out of them, leaving 
them to receive hereafter the punishment of their sins ; which will be- 
as near eternal as mortals can be able to understand. Turn ye, oh ! 
Christian People, in every land under the sun ; turn ye to God ; and He 
will be found of you, and you shall have comfort, aid, succor; living 
water, heavenly manna, daily bread, the wine that maketh glad the 
heart. You shall have peace. Peace everlasting with the Father, and 
with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit ; which are, and were, and will 
be evermore, One. One God, the Father of all, and Jesus Christ whom 
He hath sent : one faith, one baptism. The faith and the baptism of the 
spirit which is the brother and soul of Christ; which is the power of 
God unto salvation ; which is the Son of God, the Messiah so long promised 
to, and looked for by the Jews ; the Holy One of Israel. Who is, indeed, 
one with God, the Father ; because God, the Father, has placed him at 
His right hand, and united him in the bonds of love and perfect harmony 
to His Divinity ; so that they have one will, one thought, one action ; and 
out one motive to action now pervades them, and that is to save sinners. 
Oh ! sinner, what an array of names there is against you ! But, the 



38 

great name of God alone is strength. Is not that enough to make you 
fear overthrow ? Do you dare to say He loves you, and yet continue to re- 
ject Him? If you do, you are a bad man indeed. Gratitude for all His 
mercies and all the pleasures you have enjoyed, ought, at least, to impel 
you to love Him ; and if you once love Him, you are saved. Saved for 
the time. You can fall again, if you listen to temptation. If you take 
sin to your affection, you can not love God. But love Him, and you can 
not sin as long as you love Him. My friend, I love you. I want to save 
you. I ask you, what you would prefer, to be with God in heaven ? or, with 
the lowest spirit out of the body, engaged, for perhaps uncountable years, 
in making atonement for your passionate departure from the love of God ? 
Methinks I hear you say, I would be with God ; but I don't see how I can 
bear to give up my will, to do His work. You say, the yoke is easy, the 
burden is light ; but, whenever I have tried to do right, I found it very 
difficult ! My friend, I will help you. Only be willing to let us both try, 
and I will guarantee success. Breathe for me, or for God, for that is the 
true term, one single prayer; make but one single, even ideal, or mental 
ejaculation, and I am already with you. Tell me what you want to do. 
If good. I will assist. If evil, I shall have to leave you ; but only for a 
time, only till you ask me again. Fear not to tire me by your fickleness, 
but fear those who can kill the body, and cast the soul into Gehenna: 
where shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Whcr are 
those who can kill the body? The Lord has appointed unto all men to 
die, but He has placed governments among men to cut off evil doers. 
They can kill the body for its crimes ; and then the soul, as a consequence, 
is cast into suffering, and obliged to atone by it for its sins. Disease, too, 
kills the body ; and often, far more often than men have ever imagined 
even, have diseases been the consequence of sins, and so the sinful soul 
separated from the body. Then is the saying equally true, as if the body 
was cut off by the powers that be. 

The end of the matter is this. All that will come, may come, and par- 
take of the waters of life; freely, without money, and without price. 
This book shall be published by the proceeds of a bad debt ; and the pro- 
ceeds of the book, at a trifling price, shall again be devoted to its further 
dissemination. If any seek its pages who have better use for the money, 
my agents shall deliver it, without money and without price. But yet, 
that is only an outward performance of the promise, and not the one that 
its first utterer had in view. The true interpretation is, that God will 
teach men himself; and that no man need go to his brother to inquire 
where is Christ; for, behold he is in you, except ye be reprobate. And, 
if you are reprobate, repent, and live. Repent, and receive Christ. 



39 



THIRD GRAND DIVISION. 
ORIGIN AND LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 



CHAPTER XY. 

THE CORRECTED VIEW OF CREATION. 

In the beginning God made all that is made; as we have declared. 
But how He made, we will declare. 

In the beginning was the word : and the word was God. It was of God, 
and was God. What was the word ? The word was the power, or wis- 
dom, or will of God. For these three are one. The word took flesh, and 
we beheld his glory ; the glory of the only begotten son of God. This 
only begotten son of God was also son of man. He is Jesus Christ, who 
was of Nazareth, and now sitteth, or existeth, at the right hand of God ; 
in his power, will, and glory. The word of God is quick and powerful, 
even to the dividing asunder of the joints and the marrow of man. It is 
a sword of division between good and evil. It is a sword that is two- 
edged, and sharper than any steel or metal sword that ever was made. 
It is God. But did God take flesh ? Oh, no ! thou out ward- vie wing man. 
The word of God is God : and the word of God took flesh. Then God took 
flesh, you say, by every rule of logic and reason ? Wait ; and I will ex- 
plain to you the difference between the two sayings. 

The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged 
sword, says Paul. The word of God took flesh, and we beheld his glory, 
says John. Now, which is right ? Both, I say ; and I will show how 
they are to be understood, and that they do agree in fact, though not in 
words. 

First, God is not the word, though the word is God. How can that be? 
again exclaims the logician. The same as before, I say • and so I must 
explain to you again, that in God are all things. All things are from him, 
and without him there is nothing. This is, I believe, admitted by all who 
admit a God to exist. For, if God were not all, then something would be 
independent of all else, and therefore of him. For out of God came all, or 
else it must haA r e come from nothing. If it came from nothing, it came 
by his command, or by another's. If by another's, whose? Either some 
other immortal being, independent of Him, or else independent God, or else 
a part of Him who made all things but Himself. For He, Himself, hav- 
ing always existed, was never made. Now, if God made all things, ho 
made the word, or else the word was a part of Him. If a part of Him, 
it was not Him, though he might be the word. For, though a part can 
not be a whole, a whole can be, or comprise, a part. Thus il is fchat 



40 

Word is God ; because it is a part of God. But, God is not the word, be- 
cause he is more than that, and can not be comprised in it. 

There is in every man a word of God, a power of God, provided he is 
willing to have it. But, in Jesus of Nazareth the word of God was in 
abundance; bringing forth fruit unto righteousness, purity, and love. 
How, then, shall we make it appear that he was not the only begotten Son 
of God ; born of the Virgin Mary ? By attentive consideration of what 1 
shall declare, you will, I think, perceive that of a truth God was in him, 
but that he was not God. That he was the only begotten son of God, but 
that he was not God. That he was the only Savior given to man, by 
whom man could be saved : and yet he was not God. That he was the 
sure and steadfast promised Messiah : so long looked for, so often prophe- 
sied of ; yet he was not God. That he was King of Kings, and Lord of 
Lords \ yet he was not God. Now all these things are believed of him, 
with the addition that he is God, by many churches ; comprising, by far, 
the greatest part of mankind calling themselves Christians. 

The ways of God are mysterious and incomprehensible to men. But 
the ways of men are plain in the sight of God, however men may strive to 
conceal them. Often men try to conceal their motives from themselves, 
and succeed almost as well as when they try only to deceive their brethren. 
But God, seeing all things, and knowing every motive, sees that a time 
has come when men are prepared to receive the truth ; and He will have 
it preached unto them, raising up for that purpose such instruments as 
shall give Him the glory, honor, and praise of all that is accomplished 
through them, and being willing to receive from Him their equal penny 
with other laborers who may have done far less. But the race is not to 
the swift, nor the battle to the strong ; and when the contest is over, God 
will be All in all. But He will have victory through humble and sub- 
missive means, or mediums of His will, who will be satisfied with the re- 
wards of a good conscience. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE HISTORY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH. 

Now, in order that the History of All Things may be complete, I shall 
proceed to give the History of Jesus of Nazareth ; a man approved by God. 
He was the son of Mary, a virgin of Jerusalem. She was betrothed to 
Joseph, the son of Jacob, and he was the reputed father of Jesus. But he 
was not his father, in any way, except that his wife bore him that child. 
Still, he was born in lawful wedlock, and so was not subject to any re- 
proach. But, should any one reproach Mary with bearing a child that 
was not her husband's, she was prepared by God to give an answer ; that 
her husband was satisfied. But the birth of Jesus was in this wise. The 
child was the result of the will of God operating upon the powers of Mary, 
who conceived, without desire of man, a child, It grew: in the usual 



41 

course of gestation. It was born in due time ; and at its first inspiration 
received the spirit of Christ ; the Son and Sent of God. But how was the 
spirit of this child miraculous, as was the body? How was the spirit so 
different from other men ? He was born with a different motive. Other 
men left Paradise because they desired change ; they desired knowledge 
of good and evil. But He left because he desired to do good ; and to make 
to the Father, and Creator, his gratitude, for the happiness he had enjoyed 
in Paradise. He desired to serve others. God, in his infinite wisdom, se- 
lected this spirit for the Messiah, so long promised to the Jews ; and who, 
Daniel had been informed, should be born at this precise time. This spirit, 
thus selected, was placed in the body, so prepared as to be pure and free 
from all sensuality. For there had been no sensual excitement in Mary's 
experience ; and, consequently, she impressed no trace of it on her off- 
spring. This is the history of the miraculous birth of Jesus. He was, 
thus, the only begotten son of God ; because God had, by his will, which 
is his power, begotten, or caused his conception by Mary, without any 
sensation on her part of the act. Because in no other instance has it 
pleased God so to cause a being to be produced on the earth. Because, 
being thus chosen, he was qualified to become the Son of God while in 
the body, which no other child of God has been able to arrive to be till he 
has left the body, and been numbered with transgressors in the way that 
Jesus was. But not in the way that he was only, but also by being 
transgressors themselves, each for himself. Having thus opened this sub- 
ject, let us pause and reflect, that God has caused this event to be descri- 
bed with great particularity by two evangelists, and that Paul, also, re- 
fers plainly to the manner and form of it : and yet out of those accounts 
men have managed to build a blasphemous theory, which has no founda- 
tion there or elsewhere. This is the more strange, as it originated at a 
very early period of the church, while there were some standing in the 
body who had themselves seen the Holy One of Israel. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST, ON EARTH. 

The whole world was expecting a great event. The shepherds that 
watched their flocks, the priests that worshiped in temple and fane ; the 
king on the throne, and the student in the closet ; all were expecting some 
one to arise who would declare the will of God, and be armed with power 
and authority to teach, to rule, and to condemn. This was produced by 
the will of God, in various ways we will not stop to describe. But of all 
the watchers, only the shepherds and the magi were observant of the 
signs of his coming. They proceeded to visit him in his humble, his lowly 
abode ; and, undaunted by the poverty of his parents, they adored his 
manifestation of the presence of Deity, which shone miraculously, as they 
thought, in his countenance. 



42 

But the child grew, and found favor with God and man. Pilate was 
not yet governor of Judea, but Herod was as willing to do a "bloody act as 
Pilate was afterward. He caused the child to be sought for, that he might 
put him to death. But God directed Joseph and Mary to flee. He sus- 
tained their health and strength, and blessed their exertions to procure 
food and raiment, so that they were abundantly provided for during their 
sojourn among a hostile people. For, though Jews were well received in 
some parts of Egypt, in others they were abhorred. They resided in Pa- 
gan darkness, but a bright light ever shone from the countenance of the 
child, which charmed and captivated every beholder. The time arrived 
when Herod was no more, and Judea was again a safe residence for the 
King of Kings. His parents, with their as yet only child, returned and 
visited Jerusalem and the great feast, or gathering of the Jews from all 
parts of the world. There he was distinguished, too, by his extraordinary 
countenance ; and attracted the attention of the dignitaries of the nation, 
who found the beautiful face was only an index of a lovely disposition and 
powerful mind. They were confounded by his answers then, and puzzled 
by his questions, as they were afterward when he had entered upon his 
great work, of declaring that God was the father of all, and that the king- 
dom of Heaven was within men. So much, or nearly so much, we have 
from history, which has come down to the present time among men. 
But there were lives of him written that were more full, and that descri- 
bed, what I shall describe at some future time, with particularity and pre- 
cision. These books would not allow the Homoousian doctrine to be estab- 
lished. Power and presumption destroyed and proscribed them ; and at 
last they were lost forever, unless God pleases, hereafter, to reveal their 
contents through some humble medium. One that will be more willing 
than he who now writes is now, or ever will be. For the sacrifice of the 
heart is not enough, without father and mother, wife and child, soul and 
body, are laid at the feetrof a suffering humanity, a pleased God. That 
is, God will be pleased when the sacrifice is offered, and humanity must 
suffer till it is offered upon God's altar of mercy and love. 

I have tried my medium, and he can not bear more. I will spue him 
out of my mouth till he can. But he never will be, in the body, a willing 
son of God. And yet such will arise, ready and willing to serve, and to 
die, for the love of God and men. God will accept the sacrifice, and they 
shall be blessed for evermore. Peace on earth, and good-will to men, 
will be their salutation. It is now my salutation, as I commence the His- 
tory of the Ministry and Sacrifices of Jesus. He was a carpenter by trade, 
and worked at his trade in Nazareth for years before he began to preach. 
He was thirty-one years old when he first left his residence, to follow the 
direction of God in his ministry. But during his earlier years he had 
wrought miracles, and been regarded as a Divine personage by his mother, 
and some devout old men. But at thirty-one years of age his public min- 
istry commenced. His first act was to conform to the new light, or form 
which John, tho last of the Jewish prophets, and his own forerunner, was 
declaring to the people, would help to purify them and prepare them for 
the kingdom of Heaven. When John preached baptism, it was not sprink- 
ling, but immersion, that he used and enforced. How did these help to 



43 

prepare men for heaven? will ask some, who now call it unessential. 
Because it was a type of regeneration. It signified that the recipient had 
taken the pledge, that he would henceforth try to serve God, and watch 
tor his Son and Sent. Then John taught them that that Son, and Sent of 
God. would teach and practice a different kind of Baptism, and that the kind 
he practiced would cease. He must increase, hut I must decrease, said John 
the Baptizer. But when Jesus came, he was baptized : and his disciples 
baptized. Yes ; Jesus fulfilled every custom of the Mosaic dispensation, 
and baptism was common in their ritual. We find it now recorded, that 
Naaman, the leper, was directed to baptize three times in the Jordan, and 
that he was indignant, that so common a proceeding should be the only 
prescription the prophet of God would give him. 

The last enemy that man encounters is death. But Christ triumphs 
over death, and the Son of Man triumphed over death, even in so hor- 
rible a form as that of the cross. But when he cried out. My God, 
why hast thou forsaken me? he had not experienced that God was with 
him to remain forever . He was, momentarily, at a loss for the heavenly con- 
solation he had so constantly experienced. He had turned within himself, 
as usual, to have the counsel of God, and, to his astonishment, found no 
responsive spirit. Christ was withdrawn from Jesus. The man suffered, 
the spirit was withdrawn to God. Not the spirit of the man. but the 
spirit of Christ. How is this, you say : was not Jesus and Christ one per- 
son ? Was he not Jesus Christ ? Yes, he was Jesus Christ ; and Jesus 
and Christ were united as one. But they were two persons. Thus, Je- 
sus was the name, among men, of that body and spirit which Mary was 
delivered of. But the spirit of Christ was the Sent of God, that had so 
pleased God as to be called his beloved Son. But the spirit of the man. 
the soul as it is generally called, was also the Sent of God ; the Messiah 
long promised ; the glorious Son of God : the only begotten Son of God. 
And this Jesus also possessed the Christ, that is also sent to every man. 
But to Jesus it was sent more abundantly : for to him that hath, much 
shall be given ; while to him that hath little, or none, what he has shall 
be taken from him. This Jesus, then, being so filled with the Christ, or 
the Sent Spirit, Son of God. was properly called Jesus Christ. But yet, 
Christ had another signification, in which it was really used and applied 
to him. He was called Jesus Messiah ; and Messiah is rendered in the 
Greek, Christos : in the English. Christ. But, then, what is the differ- 
ence between the Christ that Jesus Christ had, and the Christ that Jesus 
had? It is this. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. because he was 
chosen by God to be the Shiloh, or Prince of Peace : the Messiah, or the 
Sent of God to the Jews; as he had promised their forefathers many times. 
But he, being chosen (because in Paradise he had desired to be of service 
to others, and to do God's will, and be his servant), was sent. He entered 
the body God had caused Mary to bring forth. His birth was miraculous, 
or contrary to the general order of generation. He was the only example 
of such a procedure. Then, being born as he was. and being thus pure 
and holy, and the son of God as well as the son of man. he was worthy to 
be the Son of God, because of his innocence, and his purity, and his benev- 
olence. He was also passive to the influence of God upon him. He 



44 

strove to do his Father's will, by bringing, or keeping, his own in entire 
submission to God's. Whoever does this, will receive a Son of God, a 
Christ, into his heart, or mind, or soul, as it would be variously termed by 
different persons, under different constitutions of faith, or learning. Hav- 
ing received this last Christ, he was armed with a double armor. He had 
put on the whole armor of God, and nothing earthly, nor even heavenly, 
could prevail against him. Because his will was in unison with heaven, 
and there could be no collision between them. Because earth was power- 
less against heaven, there could be no contest there. So there was no 
contest. But he had the -victory. He overcame without fighting. Re- 
sistance would have been impossible. His will was law. It was God's 
will. God's, by his will being submissive to God's ; and so, of course, all 
others must yield to God's. But yet, Christ was deserted by this second 
Christ, when Jesus the Messiah, or first Christ, was on the cross. Then 
immediately the man cried out, as in the original, Eli, Eli, lama 
sabachthani ? My God, why hast thou forsaken me ? This cry of pain 
showed that the two Christs were not inseparable. And what was the 
cause of this separation, think you ? It was the desire to save himself 
from death upon the cross, that had been so reluctantly yielded in the gar- 
den of Gethsemane, and had now triumphed over him in the severity of his 
pain and suffering. Alas ! that one rebellion against God's will was a sin 
that he had to atone for. He descended into hell, or the place of departed 
spirits, for this sin. He soon rose again; purified, sanctified, glorified. 
He ascended into heaven, and there he dwells in power, and majesty, and 
dominion of God. He is united to God by perfect submission to his will. 
He can never fall from his grace : neither can any other son of God, when 
in the spirit form ; for then none can go backward, all go forward. What? 
does Jesus Christ, then, go forward after having been so united to the Fa- 
ther ? Yes, indeed ; all creation is progressive ; and as Jesus Christ, the 
high and holy Son of God, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, becomes 
nearer and nearer to a perfect God, he loses, little by little, the imperfec- 
tion of his nature. At last he will be almost like God ; almost God him- 
self in all his attributes. But, as but one can be God, and only God is perfect, 
so when perfection is approached at every step, yet it can never be attain- 
ed. For if mathematicians say truly, no object can ever be reached, if 
every progressive movement toward it lessens only a part of the distance : 
so, though Jesus of Nazareth is now the highest spirit among the sons of 
God. next indeed to God himself, he can never reach pefection so long as 
he only becomes more and more perfect : that is, less and less imperfect. 
Amen. 



We have now shown the Origin of All Things, and the End of Man. 
For this is also a History of Man. Not physiological, social, national, or 
general; but spiritual. Nor chronological, or astronomical, or geological; 
but eternal and ethereal. What, then, remains ? What that is worthy 
of our pen, of our time, and trouble? Nothing, now. But hereafter, 
when we shall have other than swine to cast pearls before, we will, 
through this medium, declare the glory of the celestial, or future, world ; 



45 

and the happiness and the enjoyment that has been, and will be, enjoyed 
by every man, woman, and child ; born and unborn; living or dead. 

The medium says, 

Amen. 

Blessed be God, evermore, for all his mercies, 

and for all his promises. 



saith the Spirit, 
and, God will bless those who believe, as thou hast done, 

WITHOUT HAVING SEEN. 



46 



APPENDIX 

TO THE SECOND EDITION, 



The first edition of this book published as directed by me, having been 
exhausted, I have directed it to be stereotyped, and the proceeds of the 
first edition applied in part payment of the cost of the stereotype plates. 
The remainder must eventually be returned to my medium from publica- 
tions made by my directions, but till then he must be patient. 

Some of the errors of punctuation have been corrected in this edition, 
but these and other defects are but the spots on the sun of its truth, for as 
those sun spots are imperceptible to the ordinary observer, and do not 
suggest even to the observer of them any idea of imperfection in its Con- 
triver or Creator, so these spots arising from the non-subjection of my me- 
dium, or from the necessity of his position toward me, and his defective 
knowledge of the laws of the language used, need not disturb him who 
seeks only to enjoy the beams of the sun of truth, the light of heavenly 
wisdom, the beams of Divine Revelation. 

The Second and Third Books of this Series, and the Second Series of 
these books in one volume, are but continuations and amplifications of the 
ideas and suggestions to be found in this Book ; though many will not find 
the rudiments of those books in this, even when they cursorily look for 
them. But an earnest search with desires to see truth and accordance, 
will be rewarded by success. Seek, and ye shall find, and as ye seek so 
shall ye find either light or darkness, truth or error, new ideas or old ones 
renewed or strengthened. How, then, shall we find truth? you will say. 
By seeking for it by prayer and unbiased search ! 

March 6, 1853. 



INDEX. 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 

Title Page, ..... 

Introduction. ..... 

Preface, ..... 

First Grand Division : Origin of All Things, 
Second Grand Division : Origin of Man in General, 
Third Grand Division : Origin and Life of Jesus Christ, 
Appendix, ...... 

Outside Cover. 



Pagb 

1 

3 

4 
5 

20 
39 
46 



FIRST GRAND DIVISION 
I. The Origin of All Things, 



Seven Chapters. 



Chap. I. The Origin of All Things, ... 5 

Chap. II. The History Recommenced and Continued, . 7 

Chap. III. The Origin of Man, ... 9 

Chap. IV. The Duties Men owe to Each Other, . 11 

Chap V. What is Man? . . . . 13 

Chap. VI. The Soul of Man, in its relation to God, . 16 

Chap. VII. The Design of Man's Creation, . . 18 

SECOND GRAND DIVISION: Seven Chapters. 

Chap. VIII. The Future of Man, ... 20 

Chap. IX. The Preparation for Death, ... 23 

Chap. X. Where shall the Ungodly be Found ? . 27 

Chap. XI. The Soul of Man in the Future State, . 29 

Chap. XII. The Soul of Man here on Earth, . . 34 

Chap. XIII. The Soul of Man in its Eventual Relation to God, 34 

Chap XIV. The Means by which God's Mercy is Exercised, 35 

THIRD GRAND DIVISION: Three Chapters. 

Chap. XV. The Corrected View of Creation, . . 39 

Chap. XVI. The History of Jesus of Nazareth, . . 40 

Chap. XVII. The Life of Jesus Christ on Earth, . . 41 



THE HISTORY 



OKIGIN OF ALL THUGS; 



COXTLN I' El) 



AKD ENLAEGED 



AS REQUIRED BY THE AMPLTTUDE OF THE SUBJECT OF THIS VOLUME ; 



UECfG NO-W DEVOTED TO 



THE HISTOEY OF THE WORLD, 



IN ITS DIVISIONS OF CHRONOLOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, AND 

ALSO LN ITS POLITICAL DIVISIONS, ITS CIVIL INSTITUTIONS, 

AND ITS PROGRESS LN RECEIVING DIVINE ADD, 

COUNSEL, AND DIRECTION. 



IN TWO PAETS. 

PART FIRST. 

CHRONOLOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY 

IN GENERAL, OF NATIONS, AND COMMUNITIES, 
SOCIALLY, MORALLY, AND POLITICALLY. 

PART SECOND. 

THE HISTORY OF DIYINE INFLUX 

TO, AND ITS OPERATIONS UPON, THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH J FROM 
THE BEGINNING TO THE 1 PRESENT TIME. 

BY GOD'S SPIEIT; DELIYEKED IN WKITOSTG, 

TO L. M. ARNOLD, MEDIUM. 



1852. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 
L. M. ARNOLD, 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of 
New York. 



This Book is the Second of a series entitled The History of the 
Origin of all Things, and is offered at the low price of Twenty Five 
Cents, being merely the cost of printing and circulating a large edition. 
To be had of Fowlers and Wells, 131 Nassau Street, New York, or of 
L. M. Arnold, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in any quantity, and for sale by 
booksellers generally. Its contents will be found to throw light on much 
that is obscure in Chronology, History, Geology, and Cosmography, as 
well as Religious Forms and Sentiments. It may be profitably read by 
biblical students or scientific explorers, whilst it is not above the compre- 
hension of the popular reader. It must be read by all who would keep 
up with the history of Spiritual Manifestations, upon which it throws more 
light and explanation than any former work ever did, or any other work 
ever will. Published this day, by Fowlers and Wells, New York, August 
20, 1852. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Let all the people praise Thee, Oh! God! for all thy mighty works, 
and for all thy loving promises ! Let every nation, kindred, tongue, and 
people, praise thy holy name ; for thou art greatly to be loved, and sepa 
ration from thee, greatly to be feared. Then, Oh! God ! let us experience 
thy mercy, and loving kindness, in this, our day of probation, whilst we 
are •left free to choose the good, and reject the evil; or, to choose the 
evil, and reject the good. And so, Oh ! God ! lead us to advancement, in 
thy great chain of existence ; which, link by link, extends to the lowest 
particle, or atom, of thy works; even to their most attenuated, or un- 
formed, form. Let us, who read this book, Oh ! God ! receive the truths 
and revelations it contains, as truths and revelations; and let not our pride, 
or our prejudices, or our education, or our passions, separate us from the 
truth, or divide our affections, which we desire to place on Thee, oh! 
Most Holy, Most Kind, Most Loving, and Merciful God, and Savior 
Amen. 

The deep instruction, and the lofty truths, contained in this book, will, 
in many instances, be pearls cast before swine, who will desire to turn, 
and rend my medium. But, though he is resolved to bear with patience 
any persecution, he shall not be found suffering from it. This land of 
America is free ; and, however some may desire to make men's opinions 
in religious matters, a test of fitness for business, or political office, they 
never have, and never will, succeed, in overthrowing any servant of mine, 
who acted in my will. When mediums act in their own wills, they may 
often receive such opposition, as to confound them, and destroy their 
work. But, this only shows, that he who would proceed rightly, must 
rely on Go J, and proceed no faster than he directs. He must be as care- 
ful not to go too fast, as he is to keep up to what is required of him. 
Submission of will, a surrender of man's Free Will, is required, in order 
to have Go 's sure help. He will, assuredly, save those, who rely wholly 
upon him; when, to all human reason, salvation is impossible. Read 
Daniel's account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's, being cast into 
the fiery furnace, and of his own salvation from the hungry lions ; and bo 



assured, first, that it is literally true, having occurred precisely according 
to the simple relation of it ; and, second, that God is able to save now. 
as he was then ; and, that if necessary now, the Czar of Russia 
could be made to eat grass like an ox, and his kingdom be taken from 
him, to be restored no more, or to be restored at the end of seven years, 
as easily as Nebuchadnezzar was turned out of his palace, for exalting 
himself, in the midst of extraordinary grandeur, and unlimited, with men, 
power. Remember God's power, and remember the advice of him, 
who, 1800 years ago, was learned, and pious, though not convinced of the 
truth of Christianity, and warned the Sanhedrim, to let the preachers of 
new doctrines alone, for if the thing was of God, it would prosper, and 
they might be fount! fighting against him, whilst if it were not of God, it 
would come to nought. Let every man, then, look carefully about him, 
and see on what foundation he stands; and, let him who thinketh he is 
already on a sure foundation, take heed lest he fall. For this day, is the 
Word of the Lord fulfilled, That your old men shall dream dreams, and 
your young men see visions, and the spirit of God is poured out in the 
land. Let the Earth rejoice, and all the sons of Earth give joyful thanks. 
Let the floods clap their hands, and all the people shout for joy. For 
unto us a son is given ! Who will declare his generation ? who will show 
his forthcoming? Let every medium, attend well to what I shall declare 
through him ; and, let eveiy one, who has believed himself inspired by 
me, or by God himself, or by his Holy Spirit, for all are one, let them, I 
say, attend to their impressions ; for, I will, if they are willing to receive 
the unmixed truth, impress on them the conviction, of the truth of this 
book, and of the verity of all my sayings, through this medium. And 
you, Oh ! Mediums ! and you, Oh ! Inspired Receivers ! of my impres- 
sions, do you declare publicly, as it were upon, or from the house-top, 
what I give to you in a corner, or in your own hearts, or minds. Do this, 
and live. Smother it, and you shall die ! Die to my communion, to my 
impressions, to my communications. Attend, Oh ! People of America ! 
and prepare for your great destiny, by submission to instruction, and by 
being willing to come under the authority, and guidance, of the King of 
Kings. 



PREFACE. 



This Book, is the higher manifestation promised in the First Book. It 
is published, sooner than might have been expected, because the need is 
great, and the Medium was ready, passive, and submissive. It has been 
written, as the First Book was, by the direct revelation of the Son of 
God, Jesus Christ, formerly of Nazareth, now the first spirit, of all the 
sons of Earth, who has reached the Seventh Circle, of the Seventh 
Sphere. He is now the only son of man, there from the Earth. But 
others are in the sphere below him, advancing steadily, and with greater, 
and greater, proportionate rapidity, in that chain, of degrees of existence, 
which extends from God, to Man in the Body, in this Earth, and in the 
other globes of matter. It extends thus far spiritually, and even beyond 
it, one step, to the spirits in Paradise. It also extends by infinitely small 
links, or degrees of gradation, to the lowest forms, or manifestations, of 
matter ; and, though this may seem below the dignity of my subject, to 
speak of a material comparison, I will say, that men are above matter, as 
God is above Spirit. Man may control matter, even as God controls 
spirit. But men are controlled by the laws of matter, and God by the 
laws of spirit. The difference is only that God made all laws, including 
those by which he himself is governed. Let us read with care, and with 
high, and pure motives, and earnest endeavor to find the truth, and be as- 
sured, Oh ! son of Earth ! you will rise from the perusal, of this revelation 
from God, a wiser, and a better man. But if you read to find flaws, and 
faults, I have left enough to satisfy you, and to excuse yourself, to your- 
self, for your contempt of the knowledge, here offered to mankind, of the 
hidden things of God. Things which many have desired, with great desire, 
to obtain a knowledge of, but have not ; and, which can give no satisfaction 
when known, unless received with submission and obedience to the light 
they display and direct to, and the precepts they inculcate. That you may 
be benefited, I have made an earnest prayer to God in your behalf, which, 
you will find near the close. Read it when you come to it in regular 
progression ; and, if you desire to receive the greatest possible benefit from 
this book, read in the order in which you find it printed, and with constant 



asking of the Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, that he will ueip 
you to understand, its high and eternal truths. The errors are trifling, 
and will do you no harm, if believed, or acted upon. So read, and receive, 
with confidence ; for the Holy One of Israel, whom you have so often 
asked for knowledge with your lips, now offers it to you, and it only needs 
the heart's prayer, and work, to enable you now to obtain it, through a 
humble but correct medium. 

Let us pray. 
Almighty God ! who dost, from thy throne, behold all the nations of the 
Earth, all the hearts of men, and all the Creation of thy "Will, look down, 
[ pray thee, upon this intended reader of thy revelation. Sanctify to him 
its precepts, bless to him its knowledge, purify in him his nature, sub- 
due in him his will, by leading his reason, to see the beauty of this Reve- 
lation, of thy, heretofore, hidden-from-men-in-the-body knowledge of thy 
Will, and Purpose. Let all who read, understand ; and all who under- 
stand, be wise ; and all who are wise, will praise, and honor, Thee, the 
Everlasting and Ever-Loving God. Amen. 

Reader, read : and be wise ; and understand ; and be profited : For 
the riches of God's kingdom, are greater than those of California, and the 
.glory of God, is beyond the glory of this world, so far, that men cannot 
appreciate it, whilst in the body. 

Let all the people praise the Lord, 

Yea, let all the people praise him ; 

For his mighty works, 

And for his noble revelations ; 

For his great mercies, 

And for his loving kindnesses. 



PAKT FIEST. 
EARTH. 

CHAPTER I. 

CHRONOLOGY. 

The Chronology of Mankind conformed to the real Chronology, as ascer- 
tained by Spirits after their Ascension to the right hand of God. 

§ 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. 
The Word was with God in the beginning. But God has no beginning. 
In this case, beginning must be taken to mean all eternity, or else we 
must believe the Word was created by God. For God was, always; and 
ever will be. But nothing but God is eternal. What then is the Word? 
Not God ! for he is one, and he himself never took flesh. Not a part of 
God, always separate; because then two existences must have been 
eternal. But there was a time, or period, when the Word was in God, 
unseparate, unseparated. Then there came a time when God separated 
the Word from himself, and gave to it an existence in his power, equally 
conscious with himself, but subservient to him, and ever having but one 
will with himself. Inasmuch as the Word always acted in God's will, it 
was always equally endowed with power to become a son of God, equal 
iu power to God. Equal in power, because to him who does God's will 
is given God's power. But the least departure from God's will, destroys 
that unity with God on which this power depends, and Word, or being, 
becomes powerless ; unless God has also given it power of its own, allow- 
ing it to exercise it within certain limits, according to its own free will. 
How, then, and when, was the Word created. Long ages before the 
World was created, long ages before the command went forth, Let there 
be light, the Word was created ; that is separated from God, and made 
a separate, but dependent existence. Shall I attempt to declare his gen- 
eration, and number the years of his age? No: finite beings are not 
possessed of the capacity, in the body, to conceive of the length of the 
period, that existed, after the Word was separated into an existence sepa- 
rate from God, until the World was spoken into existence. But before 
matter existed at all in the creation of God, when all was void, and all was 
God, then the Word was brought forth from God, by his will and power, 
and made his servant. By it, the worlds were made ; and through it, man 
was brought forth. 

§ 2. But how were the worlds made by this Word? By the operation 
of God's will, through the Word, the laws of progression were established. 



8 

God spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. So it is 
recorded he did; and, so it was. Well then, how did the Word assist? 
The Word received the command, and as God's servant executed it. The 
Word was obedient, and made the worlds. As they now are, so they 
were made to be, by the Word. The same Word, that was in the begin- 
ning with God, is yet with him in the eternal existence. Such as man 
can comprehend I am permitted to unfold. But there are speedy limits 
to man's comprehension, when we enter upon the eternal and unchanging 
things of God. The laws, by which he caused the worlds to be made, 
are beyond man's comprehension. It is enough for man to know, that there 
were laws, or rules of proceeding, established as the foundations of the 
universe ; and that these laws, or rules, still enable the Word to maintain 
the universe of matter in its place, and to be the means of its progress 
towards perfection, which it can never reach. What then are the laws 
of progress to be spoken of for, if they cannot be explained ! What is 
the use of revealing any part, without telling all ! some will say. I say, 
that some are glad to make an addition to their knowledge, without asking 
for the whole counsel of God. Sufficient is it, for them, that God makes 
them rulers over a little. These shall, however, receive the more for 
being satisfied. The others shall be confounded by the utterance of 
strange voices, who will make them doubt that they know any thing. 

This is the end of the matter. God made the laws, and the Word 
made the worlds. Without the Word was not any thing made that was 
made. What then is the Word ? Is it a gigantic, powerful, lusty, and 
hard-working assistant of God ? Oh ! no. God needs no help. He could 
as well have proceeded without the Word. Why then did he make the 
Word to make the worlds, when he could have made them without it I 
Because it was his will to make the Word first, and to have the worlds 
made by it. Because the Word has other duties to perform, besides 
making, and guiding, and preserving, the worlds of matter. The least of 
the Word's duties are comprised in its relations to matter. It is to spirit 
that the Word is most faithful, or constant in attention. Spirit, then, is 
under its rule! Yes, by it all things were made that were made, and 
without it was not any thing made that was made. John spoke not of 
himself, but by revelation. He was a medium. Such a medium as I am 
using. A. man in the body, not wholly free from sin, but desirous to do 
the will of the Deity, and to be passive in his hands, and in the hands of 
his spirit. The Word is Spirit. Then matter was made by spirit! Cer- 
tainly, you cannot doubt that, if you believe God is a spirit, and that God 
made, or caused to be made, all things. Well, the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God ! How is this true ? By the First Book which 
this medium published, which I have before alluded to,* this is explained. 
I do not choose to do the work twice. Read that. If you have read it 
once, or twice, read it again ; and if you do not see more in it than you 
did before, set me down as an unfaithful guide. For, I know, that who- 
ever shall read that book twenty times, shall each and eveiy time derive 
new instruction from it; and, if a sincere enquirer after truth, shall be 
advanced in his pursuit. 

* See Title Page. 



9 



CHAPTEE II. 

THE WORD. 

The History of the Word, continued, and carried to the present time. 

§ 3. The Word is eternal, as a part of the Deity. But, by itself, it is 
finite in its powers, and terminable in its existence. But will God ter- 
minate the existence of his Word ! Not as long as men have a separate 
existence, for the Word has the care of men. The Word took flesh ; 
and John, and others, beheld his glory as of th only begotten son of God. 
This glory was undoubtedly a great and a surpassing one. It was seen, 
however, in the person of Jesus Christ. The only begotten son of God, 
as described in the First Book. Then the Word was beheld by men. 
But it was not beheld by the bodily eyes of John, and others. Its glory 
was spiritual, and consisted in its superiority in morals, works, and love. 
It was the only begotten son, because it had pure desires, and because it 
was the promised Prince of Peace. It was a body, endowed with a high 
and holy spirit from Paradise, that had entered this world to benefit man- 
kind. He had no narrow views of saving from sin and misery a family, 
or a nation; but all the inhabitants of the world, being equally God's 
children, were equally intended for the receipt of his love, manifested in 
his proclaiming the great truths, relating to man's acceptance with God. 
Relating to man's conduct, socially, politically, and morally. But, having 
taught the sublime doctrines he did, how came it that he was disregarded 
by so large a portion of his hearers ? For, at the time of his Crucifixion, 
twenty believers could scarcely be found. And, even after he had risen 
from the dead, and ascended before eyes of men into the clouds of glory, 
from whence he shall come again in clouds of glory, how many believed 
besides the apostles ? Few, indeed ; perhaps not twenty in all. For all 
the mighty works, the stupendous doctrines, the all-pervading love, would 
not, nay, could not, bring men from their self-will, and make them have 
faith, and submit themselves to God's will. It was expedient that he 
should go away, or the Comforter would not come. He declared the 
Comforter should lead them into all peace. It is the Comforter that has 
ever since given men peace, when they have had it. And the Comforter 
is the Word of God. The same Word that took flesh, and the same 
Word that is so described by Paul, as being quick and powerful, sharper 
than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, 
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of men. What then is the 
Word ? It is the Power, the Will, of God. It is the Great Harmonizer 
of man ; the Intercessor, the Mediator, the Redeemer. But you thought 
Jesus of Nazareth was all this ! So he was, as far as he was one with the 
Power, or Word, or Will, of God. He had no power except from the 
Father. None of his works were done of himself. The works that I do, 
he declared, are not mine, but my father's who is in heaven. Alas! that 
man should have been unwilling to take the testimony of Jesus himself, as 



10 

to what, and who, he was. But the world is ever ready to construe 
itself by itself. Man is ever ready to help God, if God will let him help 
in such a way as pleases the man. But God wants no help. He wants 
sacrifice. Sacrifice of man's will; and nothing, but that, will he accept as 
the acceptable offering. The love of God never tires of being neglected 
by men. It continues to be offered up on the Cross of Christ to this day. 
And who shall suffer now a martyr's death ? No one ; for God has estab- 
lished a government here, in this political body, that will not execute the 
sentence of ecclesiastical bodies. If it could be brought to do it, think you 
that my mediums, various and contradictory, in appearance, as they are, 
would be allowed to live, in peace and quiet, doing my will ? Not for 
a day. Anathema, Maranatha; would be hurled upon their devoted 
heads, by every organized church known in Christendom. Why then 
has God allowed these churches to grow up, under the supervision of the 
Word ; for, undoubtedly, they have all, at times, had sincerely inspired 
men within their communion, or pale ; and why has not the Word shown 
them the iniquity of their association, and the destruction that impends 
upon them ? Because the laws of God promulgated at the Creation or 
formation of matter, would not permit the Word to proceed in his own 
will, nor to proceed out of time. A time, a period, was established, when 
the light should shine into the darkness, and be comprehended. Hereto- 
fore it shone into darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. What, 
then, is the time when the Word will act upon men ? When will the 
Word be the Light of men ? When will the darkness comprehend its 
light, and the day dawn that is so often spoken of in the Bible ? A day 
of glory, eternal, unfading, and more lovely than the Old Jerusalem, more 
heavenly than the New Jerusalem. It is now dawning. The Word 
operates now in the Will of God, and in accordance with the Old endur- 
ing laws. The Word will cause itself to become known, and himself to 
be heard and listened to. The Word will be the light of men, and at last 
man shall know God. Yea, all, even from the least to the greatest. And 
the last, shall be first ; and the first, last. 

§ 4. Now that the Word is about to be declared present amongst men, 
whither shall we turn to know how to distinguish him from others, who 
will be desirous to assume his powers, and declare the duty of men ? Try 
the spirits, and see whether they be of God, was of old a direction to men. 
It remains as the only guide, and test, ever given to judge spirits. Try 
me, then, and try other spirits, or pretended spirits, by this rule. Every 
spirit, which confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not 
of God. Beware of evil spirits. Beware of deceivers, that would, if 
possible, deceive the veiy elect. But it is not possible to deceive the elect, 
for the elect are those who choose God for their portion. Who trust in 
him. Who have elected him to be their Ruler, their Guide, their Coun- 
sellor, their King. They are they, who, when trials surround, and troubles 
beset, trust in God. They are they, who do not their own wills, but 
God's. They are they, who pray earnestly, and sincerely, from theii 
hearts, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Can these be de 
ceived? No; it is not possible. God is in them ; and no man, nor devil 
nor deceiver, can eject him. Who then is in danger of being deceived': 



11 

The enquirers who are looking here, and there, and every where, for 
something to confirm their preexistent ideas. To help their creeds, so 
cherished; their doctrines, so interwoven into society, that they fear so- 
ciety would fall to pieces without their cohesive qualities. Alas! could 
society be relieved from them, it would appear more as it was intended 
to be, more as it was in the beginning of man's sojourn upon this planet. 



CHAPTEK III. 

DECLINE OF KNOWLEDGE. 

The causes of the decline of man's knowledge of God, as first possessed 
by him in this world. 

§ 5. The world was fair to look upon, when men first roamed over its 
hills and vales; first gazed upon its mountains, its rocks, its rivers, and its 
seas. So it is now. So it was then. Nature is ever changing, but ever 
repeating herself. Man, too, was then what he is now;^ being, sentient, 
but not wise ; prudent, but not foreknowing; active, but not realizing. He 
was blessed by God, with the pronouncing of a declaration that he was 
good. So was all God's creation. Then let no one seek to alter what 
God declared good. God implanted in man the desire to extend his spe- 
cies, and to advance in knowledge. But designing men contrived to 
obscure the desire for knowledge; and stored up, in their own order, all 
that was known, by- God's revelation, of Himself, and of man's duties 
towards Him. Having so possessed themselves of the keys of heaven, 
(as it seemed to them,) they allowed mankind to fall into deeper and 
deeper ignorance ; till, being unable to distinguish between the Creator, and 
the created, they ceased to worship the former, except through the latter. 
God was not so much offended at this, as some would suppose. He is not 
jealous of his dignity, and fears no rival. He pitied men; but he did not 
desire to revenge the wrongs of themselves, upon themselves. They had 
been wronged by priests, and kings ; but priests, and kings, may be pitied 
too. For they knew not, that what they did would cause the loss of the 
tradition of God's action towards men, which they had received from gen- 
eration to generation, even from the earliest of their appearance on earth. 
Gradually it was obscured; gradually it disappeared. At last it was no 
longer distinguishable as truth. 

§ 6. But Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. He 
aspired to make the people of Egypt, in general, acquainted with the truths 
hidden from them by the priestly order. He, though the adopted son of 
Pharoah's daughter, the legal heir to the crown, was not powerful enough. 
He was compelled to flee for life. For the time had not come, when 
God's Providence, or Word, was ready to act, or to have Moses act effi- 
ciently. Forty years afterward, Moses, in the will of God, entered 
Egypt, and preached the knowledge of God. He led forth, from the 



12 

tents and cities of Egypt, an immense multitude whom no man numbered. 
They went forth, not as Hebrews, or children of Abraham, but as the 
believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God sustained their 
courage by mighty deliverances. He fed them by miracles, and preserved 
them by his power. He prepared the land of Canaan for their reception, 
by the desolation of war, pestilence, and famine. He made his Word, or 
Power, to go before them by day and by night ; till, having placed them 
in the promised land, he allowed them to exterminate the inhabitants, and 
to apportion it amongst themselves. But the institutions he furnished 
them with, however plain and pure, were soon perverted by men desirous 
to rule, and the nation soon sank into their former dark ignorance, till they 
again worshiped the idols of stone and wood. Again, and again, God 
called them by his mediums, or prophets. Again, and again, did he de- 
liver them, by mighty miracles, from their enemies, and punish them for 
transgression, or reward them for obedience. But, at last, he had them 
all deported to Assyria. Here a purer religion, than that of Egypt, pre- 
vailed; and a long captivity, purchased their restoration to their country, 
and confirmed, and strengthened, their desire to keep the statutes of Mo- 
ses, and obey the counsels of God, as declared through his mediums, in 
those dfiys, called prophets. Daniel was allowed to declare the very year 
when the Messiah, the Prince, should come, and be cut off. But yet 
when he came, the children rejected the knowledge of their fathers; 
and, would not believe the prophet of their own time, John the Baptizer. 
This John, plainly declared Jesus to be the Messiah, and though the Jews 
believed him to be a prophet, and a seer, they still rejected the Messiah. 
Why do I tell you this ? Is it not written mostly in the Bible ? Oh .' 
yes. But do you draw from it this instruction ; that the ways of God are 
past finding out, except as he chooses to reveal them ? Can man by seek- 
ing find out God ? asked my servant Job, three thousand three hundred 
years ago. No; never can reason bring him down, or strength raise itself 
to him. Be then patient, passive, and willing to be God's servant. Then 
will you be invited, to stand still, and see the glory of God. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CAUSES OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 

The causes that required the Crucifixion of Jesus 

§ 7. The time when Jesus preached, was a time similar to the present, 
when all enlightened, and inquiring minds, are seeking and expecting a 
better knowledge of God. A higher sentiment than reason, impels man 
to prepare himself for futurity. This sentiment is the Word of God, 
operating through his agents. These agents are spirits, who having found 
salvation through the power of the Word, and the mercy of God, are 
desirous of helping, or at least of being participators, in the work of the 



13 

redemption of their fellow men, from the bondage of sin and death; once 
suffered by them, now being suffered by many, by most of those in the 
body, even in this favored land. America ! thou art, to the present time, 
What the Roman Empire was to the time of Jesus. Large as are thy 
bounds, they shall still be enlarged. Strong as are the bonds of the Union 
of thy States, they shall be stronger. Dissolution shall not take place, 
tiil the work is done for which I brought thee into existence. Let the 
dead bury their dead. Let the contentious wrangle, and the envious 
aspire: but, oh! ye sons, or servants, who do my will, be ye stedtast, 
immovable, uudoubting, unfearing. Resist not evil. Let the heathen 
rage, for they shall be confounded ; and all the gates, or powers, of hell 
shall never cause any unhappiness to him, or them, whose mind is stayed 
on God. Be then of good cheer, if you have overcome the world ; for 
God has appointed America, or more properly the United States, to stand, 
as the tolerant receptacle of his mediums; the great, and constantly ex- 
tending, area for the operations of his spirits. 

§ 8. Do you read again the prophecies of Daniel, and of Isaiah, and 
see if you cannot find, that a kingdom would succeed the fourth great 
kingdom, the Roman Empire, which indeed still exists in its last phase. 
Cromwell's Fifth Monarchy men had an inkling of the truth, and they 
cheerfully abandoned the country that rejected them. They fled to the 
Wilderness, where a great eagle has sustained them; where they have 
been preserved from the Dragon, the seven-headed monster of Rome; 
and the false prophet, the Reformed churches, so called, of Europe; that 
would have bound the woman if they could, and would now undertake 
to destroy her, if they dared. But, the foundations laid by God's laws 
are not to be overthrown, till the superstructure has been finished, and the 
purposes, for which it was built, accomplished. 

What are the uses to which America is to be applied, when the super- 
structui e shall have been erected, of which the foundation is now laid, 
shall be explained by or through this medium, when he shall have finished 
some other work I have in store for him, after this book shall be com- 
pleted. But the last of his works will be his resignation to God. For he 
does not yet submit, as fully as I desire to have men submit, nor as fully as 
men have submitted in former days. He is however the best medium I 
now have ; and, being such, through him will the higher revelations be 
given to men, until another shall excel him, or he shall be taken from works 
here, to works in the spirit world. As he can now view death without 
apprehension, he is in a good state to progress, and he will continue to 
progress in submission, I believe, for a long period. 

§ 9. Having now opened the subject, I will explain, that Jesus of Naza- 
reth must necessarily have suffered a violent death, unless God had with- 
drawn him before his time. For, the days in which he appeared were 
those of ignorance : and though, by a constant miracle, God could have 
maintained his existence upon the earth, it would have only led to idolatry 
of him. He would have appeared to be God, and would have been wor- 
shiped as such a being. The Greeks, and other Gentiles, would have 
been confirmed in their previous belief in many gods, that had, as they 
believed, lived and acted amongst men. Why then was he required to 



14 

suffer so painful a death, as that of the cross? Because, his example was 
required to sustain his followers, in the persecutions they were required 
to sustain, and to endure to the extremity of torture. Many martys suf- 
fered more horrible and torturing deaths than Jesus. But none suffered 
much. For he whose mind is stayed on God, and who trusts in God as 
his Savior, Redeemer, and Preserver, can never feel the pain that others 
may attempt to inflict, or feel the pangs of death. The true life is inward. 
Fear not those who kill the body, but fear those who cast body and soul 
into hell fire. The jire of evil. The fire that rages in man's will. That 
feeds upon the man, and leads his spirit into the outward darkness of a 
departure from God's light. That feels itself to be suffering from its 
indulgence of its own propensities, and evil desires, and leaves itself in 
the outer, or outward, darkness, though there it weeps, and wails, and 
gnashes its teeth, with vain imprecations upon God, and men; upon itself, 
and God's creation in general. What greater hell can be conceived of 
than this? Can material fire burn the body worse than the remorse the 
man, who rejects the counsels of wisdom, and sins against knowledge, 
must feel, when he finds that the tempting apples of desire and lust, of 
self gratification in every way, are indeed dust and ashes. Bitterly and 
severely will he wail and weep, and lash his passions with impotent fury, 
when he finds he has destroyed his happiness, and separated himself from 
the love of God, by pursuing a vain world's transitory and fleeting plea- 
sures, instead of laying up treasure, where moth and rust do not destroy, 
or corrupt, neither do thieves break in and steal the treasures of heaven, 
which he has thus placed in a safe garner, and with a safe and powerful 
keeper. 

But, some will say, God might have overruled the wrath of men, and 
brought them to believe in Jesus as the Messiah ! Could the world have 
been brought to believe in him as such, they would have been by the 
mighty works that were done in Galilee. For three full years he spent 
in his ministry, were a daily preaching, and working of miracles. No: 
the eyes of men were not open to the light of God's love. The light 
shone into the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. But, 
surely, God could have forced men to believe! No, my friend; not with- 
out violating his own purpose, of leaving man a free agent to choose good 
or evil. God works upon men as they are willing to be worked upon. 
He pleads with them, condescends even to reason with them, but he never 
forces their will into subjection to his. That would take from man his 
individuality, his responsibility, his distinctive nature. God therefore 
leaves man to hear, to accept, or to reject. To see, to believe, or to 
reject. To feel and know, but yet able to reject the evidence of his 
senses, the convictions of his reason ; and the hard taskmaster, of his own 
cruel will, casts him down into the pit of ignorance and despair; because, 
he consults after all this work, after all these demonstrations, the will of 
himself, and the traditions of his fathers, and the tears or entreaties of 
his brethren, rather than to cast his burthen upon God. Oh ! men ! why 
will ye die. Leave the ways of self will. Be passive to God's holy and 
divine influence. To God's love, and power, and will. He will lead you 
to living waters, from drinking which ye shall be refreshed, to thirst no 



15 

more. He will give to you bread from heaven, of which those who eat 
shall never die. 

§ 10. Come then, oh! people of America! You are free, intelligent, 
independent, above all others. Why will you reject reason, sensation, 
revelation ! Why will you refuse the gifts of God, receivable only by one 
sacrifice on your part ! The sacrifice of your heart to God : of submitting 
your will to him. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you. Be then willing servants in the day of the manifestation of his 
power. The extraordinary demonstration of God's spirits, showing to 
men outward miracles, will not much longer continue. They were given 
for a time 1800 years ago. They were withdrawn then. They were 
given again occasionally, to see if men would be persuaded by them, dur- 
ing the time that has since elapsed. But now they are proceeding with 
unwonted power. Now is the accepted time, and now is the day of sal- 
vation. If you reject Christ now, you are lost to God for the present 
time. If you believe, you shall be saved, with an everlasting salvation. 
Not that you may not reject, after having received God's presence in you; 
but, that unless you reject him, you will not fall from grace. Come then, 
oh! people of sincere desires for truth and righteousness!* Lay aside pre- 
judice, and tradition ; fall down before God in earnest, private, supplica- 
tion. Continue to do it. Pray, without ceasing, to God thafhe will en- 
lighten your understandings, that he will make the crooked paths straight. 
That he will lead you to the fountains of living waters; that he will im- 
press upon you a knowledge of your duty; that he will raise you to a 
knowledge of the deep things of God; that he will show how you can 
serve him, and how it pleases him to be served. Walk humbly. Bo 
cheerful. Be content with your wages. God will hear prayer. God 
will answer prayer. He even answers and grants prayers of men made 
in their own will, and to their own after suffering. Why? Because he 
answers fools according to their folly. Because when you ask him for 
bread, he will not give you a stone. But, if you ask him for a stone, he 
will give you what you ask for, and not the bread that you did not ask for. 
How, then, you say, shall I know what to pray for! I will tell you. 1 
will write a prayer for you to make in sincerity, and from the depth of 
your heart. Make it in private. Standing, sitting, lying in bed, or walk- 
ing in the street. Make it audibly, or mentally. Only make it with sin- 
cerity, as your own prayer; and it will be answered. 



§ 11. Oh! thou eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, and ever loving 
Father, and Friend ! Oh ! listen to the humble supplication of thy deeply 
desiring servant; or, if not thy servant, oh! God! make me thy servant. 
Grant, oh! most loving, and kind, and powerful Father, and Friend! that 
I may have wisdom from thee to see, what way I should take ; to feel, 
what I ought to feel ; to love, what I ought to love. Be thou, oh !♦ most 
kind Parent! my helper, my saviour, my intercessor, my redeemer, my 
friend. I know, oh! God! that thou art all these; but yet, oh! kind Pa- 
rent! make me feel its surety more. Let me know the peace that the 
world cannot give, or take away. Be thou, oh ! Father ! my helper in this 



16 

world's affairs ; and, my savior in spiritual matters. Oh ! God ! I desire 
to serve thee, and to do thy will. May it please thee to help me to do it. 
Help me, oh! Father! to walk as thou wouldst have me, and to pray ac- 
ceptably to thee. Help me, oh! God! to say at all times, and under eveiy 
dispensation ; when troubles surround me, and trials depress me ; then, 
oh ! God ! help me more, and more, till I can say, truly and sincerely, and 
with perfect reliance on thy goodness, and mercy, and loving kindness, all, 
like thyself, infinite ; to say then, oh ! Lord, God, Almighty! not my will, 
but thine, oh ! Heavenly Father ! be done ! Amen. 

Can you make this prayer now ? If so do it. If you cannot, try to. 
Repeating it over, and over, will not make it yours. But repeating it 
with a desire to make it yours, will enable you, in time, to make it as 
yours. Try, oh! son; or daughter. I say always son, and use the mas- 
culine gender. But remember that all are one in Christ. There is no 
distinction of sex, or color, or condition, before, or with, God. All are his 
children, and all equally loved, if equally obedient. Be then earnest in 
seeking, fervent in asking, constant in desire, immovable in faith, unmis- 
takable in your position. Fear not the world, or men, or devils. There 
is One God, the Father of All, the Creator of All, the Preserver of All. 
He can save. Through Christ he chooses to do it; and you cannot be 
saved in any other way than that. What Christ is, I have explained in 
the First Book, before alluded to. Read that, attentively, many times; 
if you wish to progress in the knowledge, and love, of God. 



CHAPTEE Y. 

THE WORLD. 

When, were the foundations of the world laid ? 

§ 12. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God 
shouted for joy, then the earth and its attendant, or connected, planets ex- 
isted. But who then were the sons of God, before men had left the body? 
There were other bodies in the universe, to whom, ages before, innu- 
merable and incomprehensible to man's understanding, God had given 
inhabitants, who had, many of them, become sons of God. All these 
united in shouting for joy, that another creation had appeared, and other 
beings had been created, to participate in the heavenly bliss enjoyed by them. 
No envious spirit dwells in heaven. No hater of his brother can ever reach 
there, whilst he is such. But the last of God's creation, as far as starry 
globes extend, has not yet taken place. New heavens, and new earths, are 
being created. Heavens are spiritual. Earths are material. But that was 
not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural. Afterward that 
which is spiritual. How is this ! Have I not given a different explana- 
tion in the First Book, entitled The History of the Origin of All Things? 
Look and see. I am consistent. Be ye understanding. Be ye desirous 
to find me right, and you will not find me wrong. But, if you desire the 



17 

contrary, you will obtain j-our desire ; for I have explainer! to you that God 
gives stones, when they are asked. Be then seekers of the truth, and not 
seekers after discord. For, seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall 
be opened unto you. What is good, ask for, and receive. What is evil, 
avoid, and pray for preservation from it. 

§ 13. But, the cause that really produced and made necessary the cru- 
cifixion of Jesus, was the hard-heartedness, and ignorance of mankind, 
produced by their self will, and resulting in a resolution to reject, and 
overcome, all that should oppose their will, and tend to relieve their fellow 
men from the rule of the priestly order in Judea; and, the civil power 
chose to sustain the ecclesiastical, that it might the more easily rule the 
turbulent Jewish nation. Now if God had by his power, overruled their 
intentions, he would have only transferred the scene of operations to an- 
other spot of the same empire, or to some other empire. No other em- 
pire was so well fitted for the revelation of truth. No other spot had all 
the advantage, of proceeding from the only nation, or people, that, as such, 
believed in God. True, the Jews were a despised people amongst the 
Greeks and Romans. But the Christian religion discarded at once, the 
very causes that produced this aversion and contempt. The Christian 
religion, in reality, had no greater obstacles to overcome then, than now. 
Then, as now, many were interested pecuniarily in resisting revelation. 
Then, as now, many were ambitious of swaying the church, whenever a 
considerable body of believers were gathered. Then, as now, the lust of 
the body, and the pride or vanity of the mind, made fearful inroads upon 
the ranks of those who were almost persuaded to be Christians. But, for 
all that, for all these, the truth did become manifest, in a distorted form, 
perhaps, to most; yet, here and there, in purity, and in strength. But 
now the world is better prepared, because education is more generally 
diffused, independence of thought and action is more general amongst 
men, and the rule of pontiffs, and of kings, is maintained with great diffi- 
culty, and only by the most cruel and stringent policy. But the long suf- 
fering of God is near to its end. The fifth kingdom is established by its 
foundation. The corner stone is laid. The rock is Christ. The Son, and 
Sent, of God. The forerunner of Christ was then an outward dispensa- 
tion by Moses, and an outward sign- was given to John the Baptizer. The 
forerunner then disappeared, and was forgotten in the splendor of the 
following displays of Divine Love and Power. Then, the last of the Old 
prophets saw, and rejoiced, that the New Jerusalem was descending to take 
the place of that outward city, and temple, in which had centered the 
hopes and affections of believers in God. Then, the last prophet of the 
Old, welcomed the first, and greatest, prophet of the New. 

Now, the old prophets, or teachers in the assemblies, or professed 
churches of God, resist the new prophets; and, instead of pointing the 
people to them, they excommunicate those who may dare to follow the 
new revelation. They would have God to stand still, and see their glory. 
Wait, and see them compass sea and land to make one convert, and when 
made, he is two fold more the child of hell than before. But now, as 
then, God calls on his servants, to stand still, and see His glory. To wait 
for him to convert the unbelieving, and to lift up the lame, the halt, the 

3 



18 

blind. The last prophets shall yet acknowledge their errors; and the new 
prophets shall yet acknowledge the glory of God, and his mighty works, 
to have succeeded in making men believe them. 

§ 14. There is in every man a Christ. A spirit of God ; as I showed 
in the First Book, entitled, The History of the Origin of All Things. 
But the Christ, or spirit, that resided most surely and constantly with 
Jesus of Nazareth, was the spirit or soul of a being, whose bodily exist- 
ence had been passed on another planet. It was the planet Saturn that 
had borne the body of this spirit. There, he had been regarded as a supe- 
rior inhabitant during his life, and Divine honors were paid to him after 
his bodily death. But this result did not change his position with God. 
The being, or individual, had done his duty; though others, his compan- 
ions, had departed from, or excelled theirs. They ought to have regarded 
his teachings as Divine, and himself as a servant of God. But how did 
he so excel all others of that race, as to be deemed worthy of worship 
by them, and deemed worthy to be the Christ of God, to Jesus of Naza- 
reth ? Because he, like Jesus of Nazareth, had left Paradise from a de- 
sire to be of service. To be a servant and helper of God. To be useful 
to his fellow creatures. How long he lived on Saturn, and how Jong he 
afterward existed in the spirit state before the advent of Jesus, I will not 
at present state : your minds must be gradually prepared for the full 
effulgence of the revelations I have to make through this medium, and I 
shall have a long course of exercise for him, and for you, before you can 
believe, implicitly and unhesitatingly, all that God is willing you should 
know. 

§ 15. When Earth's foundations were laid, is so long since, that I could 
scarcely write the figures on a page of this book, that would express the 
number of years. Ten thousand times a million, ten thousand times 
repeated, would still be shorter than this period. But, for myriads and 
thousands of years, the earth was in its foundation, without form and void. 
Then God said, let there be light, and there was light. Then the starry 
globes, the sun, and the more perfectly and earlier formed planets appeared. 
But the chaos, was not brought into its present result, at once. Myriads, 
and thousands of myriads, of years rolled by, the Earth becoming gradu- 
ally formed. Its processes have been guessed at by the geologists, and 
some of them have dared to believe, that the result was an inherent pro- 
perty of matter, instead of a glorious manifestation of God's power and 
will. He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. So 
it was. He spake, and the law was promulgated by which the earth, and 
its inhabitants were formed, and established in progress to their present, 
and future state. Their present state you know. Their past I will un- 
fold in this book, and their future in another, but not the next, that this 
medium will receive. All that God wills to let man know of himself is 
now to be unfolded. He shall possess all the knowledge that spirits of 
the Fourth sphere have. Not that I am limited to that sphere or knowl- 
edge, but that I am not authorized to unfold more than that. 

§ 16. There are seven spheres, and seven circles in each sphere. 
The perfection of God is above all spheres. Jesus Christ, formerly of 
Nazareth, is of the seventh circle of the seventh sphere. There he haa 



19 

as yet no associate from this planet. But from Jupiter, Saturn, and 
other globes, in this, and other solar systems, in this, and other uni- 
verses, or great constellations, or circles of suns, from other combi- 
nations of universes, from globes that men have nev*er seen the light 
of, or even of any of their combined universes, from these, he has com- 
panions. Not many, compared with the innumerable worlds of matter 
in God's creation; not many, compared with the numbers in other 
circles of the same sphere; .still less are they many, compared with cir- 
cles in lower spheres ; but vast, incomprehensible to man, are their num- 
bers. You may think it derogatory to Jesus that he should only be the 
equal of so many other beings. That God should choose to have so many 
sons sitting, or existing, in right hand nearness to him. But how much 
more derogatory then will you consider it, that you, too, shall hereafter 
be his companion, in that same seventh circle of the seventh sphere. 
This is literally true. For all the beings that have emanated from God, 
shall at last arrive at this superior position ; and all shall be sons of God, 
equal to Christ in glory, honor, power, and love. All shall be one with 
the Father, even as Jesus was, and is, one with him. They shall even 
be thus One with the Father before they arrive at the seventh circle. In 
the Fourth circle the spirits see God, in his glory, and honor, and power. 
They cannot see God till they have so submitted themselves to him as to 
have no will but his. When they have done this, they are united to him 
so intimately, as to know his will as far as he makes it known to spirits in 
any circle. They are left in ignorance of the time and manner of its ex- 
ecution. But they know his will. Then in the Fifth circle, they know 
his power. His power executes his will ; and, as they know of the ex- 
ecution of his will, they know its time and manner. But, the Sixth circle, 
is distinguished from the Fifth, by knowing the form of the passing law. 
The present form of his intention respecting the future. The Seventh 
circle is so perfectly one with him, that they know all that God knows. 
But, they are separate and below God, in that they cannot cause any thing 
but an execution of his will. God causes. God proceeds to know what 
will be. The highest spirits cannot do this. They can only know what 
God does know ; and God knows all he has done, and all he has resolved 
to do, and how and when it shall, or will, be done. But he himself can- 
not be said to know an intention he has not formed ; though he has, of 
course, the power to form any intention, not contrary to his nature. He 
cannot form such an intention, because he is himself; and, because he will 
not be led into inconsistency by any cause. He cannot destroy himself, 
and inconsistency would destroy him. Then what is contrary to God's 
nature is impossible in its nature. And though, therefore, some things 
may be said to be impossible to him, it is because such things are not only 
undesirable, but destructive of all good. 



20 



CHAPTEE VI. 

REVELATION. 
The reason, and truth, of revelation, asserted, and maintained. 

§ 17. That revelation is true, is evident, if it be a revelation from God. 
God is, in his nature, true, and nothing from him can be inconsistent with 
his nature, as we have just shown. Revelation from God, then, is always 
true. If always true, it must always be consistent with itself, and it must 
also be consistent with all his other gifts ; because God is a unit ; and all 
that proceeds from him is, in like manner, a partaker of his unity. Do 
you say, man, as I have declared him to be, is endowed with the power 
of opposing God, or God's manifestations; and, that therefore, here is an 
inconsistency ? I say, man is only an emanation from God spiritually. 
Bodily he is a creation. Not a gift, nor a proceeding, but a creation ; 
primarily from nothing, but secondarily from the matter of the earth. 
Creation is harmonious as a whole ; and man as a whole, is harmonious. 
As seven shades unite to produce white ; so, all the varieties of men's 
manifestations unite to produce harmony with themselves, and with God. 
As two discordant musical notes are united, and harmonized by a third, 
equally discordant with each of the others, so, do these inharmonious men, 
and the inharmonious actions of men, unite in a grand whole of tuneful 
manifestation of God's will, and power. The truth is, however, one that 
man is conscious of, and can accept without reasoning, that all God's gifts 
are harmonious ; and, that apparent discords are the production of his 
creatures, and not of himself. 

§. 18. Let us then proceed to enquire, what are God's gifts to men? 
First, he gave man existence. Second, consciousness. Third, individu- 
ality. Fourth, wisdom. Fifth, reason. Sixth, judgment. Seventh, love. 
These are all God's gifts, but not all of God's gifts. The next seven, be- 
ing another sphere, I will name. First, love of God. Second, love of 
man. Third, love of self. Fourth, love of family. Fifth, sexual love. 
Sixth, heavenly desire of God's love. Seventh, the love of existence. 
These make a sphere. The seventh sphere of man's gifts from God. 
But each r of the other first named six gifts, each comprise seven circles, 
and I will name them. 

FIRST SPHERE. 

First circle. Existence, as man, in spirit, in Paradise. 

Second circle. Existence, in the body, in infancy, and childhood. 

Third circle. Existence, in the body in youth, as connected with court- 
ship, or sexual love. 

Fourth circle. Existence, in the body in maturity, as properly developed 
in the conjugal relation, and parental love. 

Fifth circle. Existence, in the body in its decline, as properly manifested 
in grandparents, who live over again the duties of parents. 



21 

Sixth circle. Existence, in the body in sickness, and death. 
Seventh circle. Spiritual existence in continual progress towards per- 
fection. 

SECOND SPHERE. 

First circle. Consciousness of existence. 
Second circle. Consciousness of love. 
Third circle. Consciousness of Providential care 
Fourth circle. Consciousness of God's love for him. 
Fifth circle. Consciousness of God's resolution to save him from his 
errors. (This has been almost lost but it was not the less a gift.) 
Sixth circle. Consciousness that he has Free-will. 
Seventh circle. Consciousness that God must be served. 

THIRD SPHERE. 

First circle. Separation from God. 

Second circle. Separation from others in like nature. 

Third circle. Separation from tlfe evil of despair. 

Fourth circle. Separation from the evil of hate. 

Fifth circle. Separation from all the evils of doubt. 

Sixth circle. Separation from self, consciousness of the past. 

Seventh circle. Separation from the body, and unity with God 

FOURTH SPHERE. 

First circle. Wisdom, by reasoning powers, or intellect. 

Second circle. Wisdom, by reasoning of the mental faculty of the 
spirit; which is sometimes called conscience. 

Third circle. Wisdom, by intuition, or by God's impression. 

Fourth circle. Wisdom, by intuition, or the instinct of animals. 

Fifth circle. Wisdom, by the laws of men, or educational wisdom. 

Sixth circle. Wisdom, by the laws of progress, or self-education, or 
experience, or memory. 

Seventh circle. Wisdom, by spiritual communication. 

FIFTH SPHERE. 

First circle. Reason by intuition, as in animals. 

Second circle. Reason by logical form, as by education. 

Third circle. Reason by religious sentiment, or conscience, developing 
the reasoning faculty to higher objects. 

Fourth circle. Reason by power of will. (This is often manifested in 
so called psychological experiments.) 

Fifth circle. Reason by power of love. (This is often manifested by 
compliance of belief in consequence of a tender relation.) 

Sixth circle. Reason by power of God, manifested by yielding to 
spiritual influences. 

Seventh circle. Reason manifested by intuition of the spiritual, or Di- 
vine, essence of man's soul or spirit. 

SIXTH SPHERE. 

First circle. Judgment by intuition, or instinctive action. (This is some- 
times called presence of mind.) 

Second circle. Judgment by the effort of reason. (This is sometimes 
called a conclusion.) 



22 

Third circle. Judgment by the power of love. (This is sometimes 
called passion.) 

Fourth circle. Judgment by the power of wisdom. (This is sometimes 
called revelation. It is however only from within the individual himself. 
It was highly manifest in Socrates and Plato, and is the cause of the gen- 
eral harmony of their writings or recorded sayings with Divine revela- 
tion.) 

Fifth circle. Judgment by the Divine Influence upon the mind, or in- 
tellect. 

Sixth circle. Judgment by the Divine Impression upon the spiritual 
intellectual power. (This spiritual intellectual power is resident in the 
soul, or spirit, of man; whilst the intellect is a combination of spiritual 
and material organizations.) 

Seventh circle. Judgment by love of God. This is a surrender of the 
will to God's influence and will. The highest manifestation of which, to 
Earth's inhabitants, was in Jesus of Nazareth. Another high manifesta- 
tion was John, the Baptizer. Another was Moses, after he was eighty 
years of age. Another was Daniel, after he was taken to Babylon. An- 
other was Luther, though he soon yielded again to the influence of the 
lower instinctive judgment. Modern times have not produced any mani- 
festations equal to any of the preceding; though, in America, Bush, and 
Swedenborg in Europe, may be placed in the highest list. Channing, 
and Wilberforce, in the next. George Fox, and Charles Wesley, in a 
third ; and so on, I might name many to gratify a curiosity, morbid, though 
honest; innocent, though unprofitable. 

Having given a very full list of God's gifts to man, do you perceive any 
inharmonious one, except his FREE-WJLL? which to him, and these 
gifts, occupies the same position that God does to the seven spheres of 
spiritual existences. Free-will is man's deity. 

§ 19. The only similarity wanting to make man God, is infinity. If he 
had coexistence with God, but was not infinite, he could not be God. Infin- 
ity is the distinctive nature of God. All spirits are finite. No spirit is 
omniscient, or omnipresent. No spirit is all pervading in its love, except 
through God. No spirit is all powerful, except through God. No spirit 
is omniscient, nor can any spirit ever arrive at this quality, or nature, for 
then the spirit would be God. And the existence of two Gods is as im- 
possible as the existence of two infinities; which is a contradiction in itself; 
to state which, is to bring into exercise man's judgment by the spiritual 
nature, or spiritual intuition, and make the hearer or reader declare it 
false. Even the heathen world, when enlightened, believed in a supreme 
God, to whom all others were subordinate. See Homer's picture of the 
threatened rebellion during the siege of Troy ; where Jove declared, that 
all the Gods might try together to pull him down from his seat, but that 
he would, by the same chain, lift them and earth together; and that he 
could hurl them all to the depths beneath the solid face of the earth, and 
bind them into eternal bondage, if he pleased. 

The life of man is short in the body, but the spirit never dies. Is it 
then eternal? Yes. Is not that being infinite in existence? Yes. But 
eternity of existence is not infinity of existence. It is eternity of exist- 



. 23 

ence that man possesses as being a part of God, and not as a being apart 
from God. God separated a portion of himself, to be man. But, as I 
explained in the First Book, a part cannot be, or comprise, the whole ; 
though the whole, necessarily, is, or comprises a part. 

§ 20. There is so much speculation now as to the future, and so much 
striving to throw light upon the past, by deep research into all the existing 
remains of former ages, that God grants the prayer of man to be possessed 
of more knowledge. Because the prayer is a genera] one; and is from a 
good and pure motive, in most who make it. For it is founded, in a desire 
lo make proof outwardly of the truth and authenticity of his revelations, 
made in former ages, to a less intelligent, but more refined, people. You 
are surprised, that it was to a more refined people! Yes. The ancient 
world was refined. It was more spiritual than the present. The mate- 
rial never had so high and perfect a manifestation as now. Railroads, 
Steamboats, Clipper ships, Telegraph wires, and Daguerreotypes, never 
existed in the former ages. That they exist now, is because God desired to 
have progress take place, and man making no spiritual progress, was glad to 
cultivate the next lower faculty, and to advance materially, whilst the pre- 
judices of education restrained his spiritual speculations, and aspirations. 
The good of these material advances is manifest to all; but not all their 
good, nor their chief good ; whicli is to bring the material nature and de- 
velopment of man nearer to Deity's spiritual nature and manifestations. 
This is accomplished by the union of electric, and magnetic, forces. By 
the union of all the purest material natures, with a combination of grosser 
materials, guided, and governed, by man's highest reasoning power, and 
controlled, and impelled, by his highest judgment power. 

§ 21. The seventh sphere will next come into action more powerfully, and 
(hen Love will become the ruling principle, and all the Sous of God will 
again shout for joy. For then will be the reign of Christ upon earth, in 
the flesh. Then the millennium will be. All men, who have admitted 
Christ to reign over them, will be harmonious ; and nation, nor individ- 
ual, will no longer learn war, no longer have strife; and the lion of pas- 
sion, and the lamb of innocence, will lie down together, and even a little 
child shall lead them into his own nature, and mind. I can scarcely re- 
frain from declaring more of the glories of that period, so soon to advance 
rapidly upon the earth ; but I know that men are not yet prepared for 
the revelation, and I will refrain. Prepare yourselves by faith, and you 
shall know all. 

§ 22. The revelation of the past agrees with that I give, and with all 
that God's spirits give. There may be discordant communications, 
caused by the imperfection of the mediums, few of whom, in the present 
day, have sacrificed their wills, even in part, to God. But the outward 
manifestations are connected with imperfect revelation, because the minds 
of men could be so reached, and so brought to listen to the counsels of 
God, given through higher, or more perfect, mediums. Had I waited 
for this medium to be in his present state, before commencing to make 
him revelations, I should have waited in vain. He would have still been 
a seeker who had not found. But God had revealed that the seeker 
should find ; and he did. For, when he first placed his hand with a pen or 



24 

pencil to paper, I moved it. I did not wait for him to ask in submission, but 
I soon required submission of him. Long, and strenuously, did he resist. 
Long, and perseveringly, did he require an outward sign, rapping, a vision, 
or prophecy, to persuade him. and to excuse to his reason, submission. But 
after many struggles, during which he sometimes ordered me to leave him, 
sometimes prayed to God to save him from evil spirits, which only can do 
evil in the body, sometimes resolved to submit for a time only, at last he 
succumbed to my influence ; because he had found me consistent with 
his spiritual advancement. Because he had found that all things worked 
together for good, though some appeared, when separately taken, to be 
evil or retarding. Because when his reason was shown that, First, God 
only is good ; Second, that all God does is good ; Third, that all good must 
come from a good source ; Fourth, that all good must come from God, 
who only is good ; Fifth, that man is from God ; unless he originated 
himself; which, after all is unbelievable ; Sixth, that man being from 
God he must be good, and must be at last united to God in harmony; 
Seventh, that man being united to God in the world, or state, to come, 
can only arrive at unity with God by progress ; and, that progress must 
be a gift of God. Then having found that man is naturally good, he de- 
sired to get back to the natural, or first, state of purity. Failing to see 
any way to get back, his next effort was to get forward. For this he 
asked God's help, and received it. Having now become willing to be in- 
debted to God for all his progress, he soon became willing to believe God 
had done him all the good, at all times, that he had received ; and that 
even what appeared evil, must, if it had been the work, or gift, of God, 
have been good. Then having found that God was Lord of Lords, and 
King of Kings, he was willing to be subject, because he saw he could 
not be free, in reality, from sin and death, till he was in submission to, 
and unity with, God. But to sacrifice his free-will, was the last and 
greatest trial. To give up the guidance of reason, to withstand the plead- 
ings of affection, the threats of the world, the censures of the church, the 
universal skepticism of his associated society, was severely trying to him. 
But, finding, by the perusal of Hammond's first delivered book, Light 
from the Spirit World, that passiveness was the great requirement here, 
and the greatest glory hereafter, he yielded, as a sacrifice acceptable to 
God, his will. He withstood the trials of being made a fool for Christ's 
sake, and of being led into the wilderness of desertion, by the spirit of 
God. There he was assailed by the enemy, the devil as he is called, 
which is the spirit of man's will, arising from its overthrow, and rebelling 
against God. Having resisted this, and having measurably resisted Sa- 
tan, or the desire to accuse his brethren of short-coming, I have accepted 
him as the best medium who has yet offered to do my work. For I 
force no man to work. It must all be agreeable to the man, or it will not 
be done. 

My medium did not know, that he would not be used till he was will- 
ing; and, his severest trials arose from the apprehension of being called 
to do, just what he is now called to do ; and is now rejoiced that he is 
found worthy to be used for. But it was not till this very day, that he 
fully sacrificed his last remains of will to God's will. He has now de- 



25 

clared himself willing to work, even m any way; even in the way for- 
merly most dreaded; I might sny abhorred, by him. But I am not yet 
ready to use him in speaking directly to men. For the present I shall 
continue to address men through him in writing, which sometimes he 
will read, and sometimes print. But to him I still speak directly, as I 
have since he first began to make sacrifices to me. or to God's will ; which 
last is the same as me, for I am in perfect unity with it. I am a high 
spirit ; but I shall not declare how high, except to him, and to such as he 
chooses to state it in conversation. I am the son of God. So are all who 
love and serve God, in perfect subjection of their will to his. But the last 
shall be first ; and first, last. And the last, and the first ; and the first, 
and the last; are all equally Sons, and Sent, or Christs, of God. 

Let us pray. 

§ 23. Oh ! God ! who art the giver of every good and perfect gift ! 
who art the eternal, and everlasting redeemer, and savior of men ! by 
whom the worlds, and the whole creation was made ! may it please thee 
to look w T ith thy ever untiring mercy, and love, upon this people; who 
are desirous to know thee better, and to love thee more. Oh ! God ! 
may it please thee, to give us such knowledge as we need of thy loving 
kindnesses ; and such faith in thy ever loving nature, as will impel us most 
heartily to love thee ; most fervently we desire to see thy rule estab- 
lished in the world of men, and to make our submission to them in the 
right way. But oh ! God ; be thou merciful, for we are weak. Be mer- 
ciful, for we are foolish, before thee. We are now, oh ! Lord ! assem- 
bled for hearing thy word proclaimed in this way, through this medium. 
Bless the medium with passiveness, so that he may fearlessly, and unhes- 
tatingly, declare, whatever it pleases thee to reveal ; and, be thou, oh ! 
God ! our savior, our redeemer, our intercessor, our ever kind, and ever 
loving, God. Almighty Father ! thou canst impress us with faith in him, 
and in thy loving kindness. May it please thee to do so, to our enlight- 
enment, and to our advancement, in the knowledge and love of thee. 
What we want, oh ! God ! thou knowest better than we know ; and if 
thou, oh ! God ! will be pleased to confer upon us thy love, we shall not 
want; thy kindness will feed us, and thy arm will strengthen us to re- 
sist evil. Oh ! God ! we do not know how to pray to thee, but we do 
know that thou art worthy of all honor, praise, and glorification. But we 
cannot give it, because we know not how to make it acceptable. 

Oh! then, Almighty Father! give us new hearts, and wills, submissive 
to thine ; so that all old things shall be done away, and all new things ap- 
pear in their places. Save us, as it may best please thee, oh ! God ! and 
let us be thankful, and obedient to thy will, on earth, as the spirits, before 
thy throne, are in heaven. Amen. 

§ 24. I am now going to write for you a Chronological Table, beginning 
at the foundation of Saturn, leaving out the outside planets, because I am 
not ready to declare prophecy, or unknown scientific facts, through this 
medium. But yet there will be unsettled questions of science determined» 
by my announcement. 

4 



26 

First. Saturn separated into a continuous ring, revolving around the 
central body of the Solar system, now so called by men of Earth. This 
occurred when the contractile effort of matter, by its law of progressive 
contraction, had overcome the cohesion of the particles which connected 
what is now called Saturn, with what is now called Jupiter. 

Then ages of centuries, myriads of years, rolled by, during which the 
contraction of the central matter continued, till Jupiter also separated. 
About the same time Saturn fell into fragments of itself, by the ring form 
becoming so attenuated, as to be incapable of maintaining equally its rel- 
ative motion around the Sun, or center. But this disruption was not 
sudden, but gradual, first one part separating, and the contraction being 
continued, it separated farther and farther at that place, till a rotary mo- 
tion was required for it to maintain its equilibrium. This rotary motion 
commenced in this way. 

The ends having been separated as far as nearly one fourth of its orbit, 
or first length of circumference, the end, which may be called the for- 
ward one, rolled, or was gradually doubled under, or towards the center 
of the system by the retarding force of the fluid in which all the planets 
move, called sometimes the aura. Then this rolling continued to pro- 
ceed with acceleration ; because, as the whole mass, necessarily, retained 
its center of gravity, in the same position that it would have maintained 
had this doubling under not taken place, the outside, necessarily, moved 
faster than before, and the disproportion, and the resistance of aura, con- 
tinuing to increase, it more and more rapidly assumed its present globular 
form, and arrived at its present period of axial revolution. 

Saturn, being now a planet in form, had as yet no attendant bodies. But 
the contraction of its body continuing, because of the existence and action 
of the same law before referred to, it soon separated into rings, first one, 
then another, about the time the first began to separate, preparatory to a 
folding or rolling up into a moon. And thus it continued to progress, till 
it had reached its present state of rings and moons, which will in time be 
farther modified, by the rings becoming moons, and new rings being formed. 
A change of this kind will take place very soon, but the particular time 
will not be declared, either through this medium or any other, to Earth's 
'inhabitants. 

The same process continued to proceed in the Solar and other sys- 
tems, till they arrived at their present form. Mars has no moon, because 
the contraction has not yet reached a degree that will separate a ring 
from the central body. The Earth has one. For Mars and Earth bolh 
separated from the central body about the same time, as now more than 
one ring exists with Saturn. The asteroids, as men call the small plan- 
ets between Mars and Jupiter, are the result of several very narrow 
rings, which existed at nearly the same time, also similar to the narrow 
and near rings of Saturn. 

The Earth's moon was separated at the time the Deluge occurred. 
For such an event did take place, and the Earth was inhabited before that 
time, even for many myriads of ages. Man, though, was not placed in 
an Earthly body till six thousand years before the Deluge. This does not 
agree with the Bible ! you say, and yet I have said revelation should 



27 

agree with itself. Well then, let me explain that the imperfect chronol- 
ogy of the Bible is not revelation, but history, written by men who were 
often inspired, but not necessarily always so. Further I will also say, 
that history cannot be truly called revelation, unless it be written by spirit. 
Now the Bible does not give its chronology as revelation, but as history. 
Then what the Bible itself does not affirm to be revelation, should not be 
understood as such. But very little of the Bible is said to be inspiration ! 
you sny. Look again, an 1 you will find that much more than you think, 
was declared by the writers to have been received by them from God's 
spirit. And much more, too, than the most part of Christians, so called, 
fully believe. How is this, you say, do not Christians believe the whole 
of the Bible, when it is one of the articles of the faith of most churches 
that it must be implicitly received ? and, when it is made the separating 
line, to determine whether the professor is worlhy of salvation by the 
church's efforts ? There is a want of true faith. Profession has taken 
its place. Men cannot reconcile its dark passages with the light within 
them; and, as the church will not let them receive from the light within 
an explanation of the difficulties named, their faith suffers deterioration, 
and is often turned into perfect skepticism. Still, as belonging to church- 
es is honorable, few are willing to declare their unbelief. Few are will- 
ing, even to confess doubts. They want at least to stand well with the 
church, though they cannot reconcile themselves with God, or with the 
Bible. 

Let us proceed. You will find I believe the Bible ; for I intend to ex- 
plain its most difficult and puzzling passages in the course of this book. 
And I have just given you a solution of the cause of the Deluge that you 
never thought of. A theory was once promulgated by a scientific and 
pious man, that the earth once had two moons, and the collision or com- 
bination of one of them with the Earth caused the Deluge. But you can 
easily perceive that nature does not go backward, or the Solar system fall 
into disorder. God does not rule and guide like men, imperfectly. But 
his will sustains all in continual progress, and he never makes any mis- 
takes. 

§ 25. Adam, then existed about 6000 years before the Deluge, and for 
that period, the Antediluvians populated and cultivated the Earth. Em- 
pires rose and fell, but their names, or languages, have not been recorded. 
Neither would it be interesting to report them now. Continents, islands, 
oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, plains, then existed on the earth, 
but not in the same relative, or absolute, form as now. The old surface 
of the Earth was entirely broken up, and the fountains of the great deep 
were opened. The windows of heaven too were opened. What are the 
windows of heaven, and how do they affect the accumulation of the wa- 
ters upon the face of the Earth ? is a natural and interesting question, 
which I will now answer. 

The windows of heaven, have puzzled scientific, pious, men, more than 
almost any other passage. For it is either a mistake of the writer, or a 
mistranslation, or else the term is used in a metaphorical sense. If meta- 
phorical, there seems no evident and plain type of which it may be the 
antitype. Then if a mistake of the writer, either from ignorance or other 



28 

cause, it must cause us to distrust the remainder of his writings. If a mis- 
translation, it must also cause us to distrust the remainder, for there may- 
be many others as far wrong. The windows of heaven, are the portals 
of God's mercy. And what are these portals like ? They are like the 
passage from death to life, or life to death as it is generally called. Not 
that the mere change of condition, is equivalent to salvation. But that the 
life of man in the world to come is mercifully ordained to be a recipient 
of love and mercy, whilst it is no longer possible for the spirit to diverge 
from God. The antediluvian world was so deeply sunk in error, so stu- 
pendously imbrued in sin, so darkly resolved on scaling heaven in their 
own way, so outrageously disregardful of decency, or propriety of action, 
or love of self prevailed so unobstructedly, that no man could be brought 
nearer to God in that life. Nearly all had departed from piety. One 
family yet remained, and God directed the head of this family how to 
save himself, and his race, from destruction. For, by the laws of prog- 
ress, the time for another creation of man's earthly body had gone by, 
and the Earth must have been left uninhabited, or a new law must have 
been promulgated to bring into being more men upon the Earth. This 
man, called in the Bible, Noah, which was in fact the name of his nation, 
instead of an individual name, became the progenitor of all the men who 
have since dwelt upon the earth. Every nation retains some tradition of 
his escape from the confusion of the land and water. Every nation or 
race possess the individual marks of this progenitor, by having a caudal 
extremity. By having a depression in the throat above the breast. By 
having five fingers, and five toes, upon each hand, or foot. For the thumb 
is also a finger. By having these marks, which were marks which dis- 
tinguished Noah from his fellow men, all men are known by us to be de- 
scendants of Noah. Whilst those who had tails, and six fingers, and six 
toes, and a full strait neck like a baboon, were, or are, of antediluvian ex- 
istence rn the body. To be sure, occasional manifestations of six fingers 
and toes, occur down to the present time, generally conjoined with great 
stature, showing that the influence of Noah's progenitors extends itself 
beyond his, at times. So too, sometimes, the full necks are seen in very 
sensual men, and even approaches to tails are seen in some parts of the 
earth, but these are amongst the lowest of the race in developement. 
Such revealments do not admit of outward proof, and most men will be 
incredulous. But I reveal to you what you have desired to know, and if 
you are not satisfied, blame yourselves, not me. It is true. My asser- 
tion will satisfy my medium, if no other. And one man's happiness, or 
pleasure, or gratification, is thought worthy of regard by the highest of 
God's spirits. How long then did the Moon continue to revolve in a ring 
about the Earth ? A thousand years is a long time for man to reckon, 
and subtracted from the last of Europe's History would leave little 
worthy of the pursuit of the present race of men. But a thousand times 
a thousand would no more than embrace the period, during which the 
Moon revolved around the Earth in a ring. Then its gradual rolling up 
commenced, and this process required thousands of years. Then the 
Earth is very old you think ! Yes, it is as old as the other planets, but 
its matter has, like theirs, assumed various shapes. Then the Earth has 



29 

had other revolutions? Yes, thousands of changes like being demol- 
ished, and reconstructed, have taken place with its matter ; but God can 
again, and again, cause these changes, and the matter will never be worn 
out. But then God must have made mistakes to make over his works so 
often ! He never makes them over. He always brings forth new works. 
Old things are done with, and new things appear. Such a change is now 
impending. What ! is the Earth to be destroyed, or reformed, so as to 
dissolve all these works of man upon it ! Yes, my anxious reader, yes. 
But not in your time, so you will have full opportunity to prepare to meet 
God in the usual course of nature, or his plan. 

§ 26. We will now return to the Creation, or Formation, of the Earth 
in its present shape, after the Moon was disrupted from it. In that 
primeval time, Noah found a rugged home in the central table land of 
Asia. He indeed, founded himself the empire, still existing under the 
name of China, though its seat of power, has been removed to the West- 
ern coast of the continent. The Chinese truly record their great an- 
tiquity. The learned fools who endeavor to show that it was forged at a 
late period, waste their time and pains. All Chinese history, and all 
Chinese art, bears the impress of the truth of their chronology. For 
thousands of years, their empire has been stationary in art, language, and 
form of government. How did this stamp of permanence become so pe- 
culiar to them ? Not by any reason but because God revealed to their 
founder a system of government, that would maintain itself. Because the 
head of the nation, is theoretically its Father. Because the priests work, 
and are not maintained in idleness. Because all work, and none are idle. 
The king and the beggar, in China, are each required to maintain the re- 
spect that it is proper should be paid to labor. Three hundred and sixty 
thousand years did the empire continue uncontrolled by foreign influ- 
ence, under the peaceful sway of lineally descended princes. Father 
and son were harmonious, for patriarchal was the rule. The people 
dwelt in peaceful happiness, and practiced each his father's trade, or pro- 
fession. So art became fixed, and limits set to progress. It came to be 
regarded as sacrilegious, to be wiser than one's father, or to attempt to 
excel him in skill or contrivance. At last China was conquered by barba- 
rians from the South ; and, though these were absorbed into its ample 
population, they infused into it some spirit of change, slight indeed, but 
perceptible. Another irruption followed, from the East, and the Thi- 
betian hordes, or ramblers of the deserts, and great tableaux of the dis- 
trict where the Chinese nation itself was founded. This irruption cor- 
rupted the religion of China, which till then had been very pure, and al- 
most perfectly retained from its first promulgation by Noah. Again, a 
Southern irruption occurred from India, and so the refluent waves of 
population which had originally separated from Noah's family, or de- 
scendants, in early time, began to roll back upon the great primeval na- 
tion, till its ancient barriers, and powerful armies were broken, and de- 
stroyed. Wars, famines, pestilences, and all their attendant evils in the 
corruption of the people, nearly depopulated China. But the principles 
upon which it was founded, had become so implanted in the nature of her 



30 

people, that they could no more be eradicated than their oblique eyes, or 
enormous ears. 

But have the Chinese a history or chronology for more than a million 
of years ? Yes. It is obscured now by fables interwoven by ignorance, 
and doubt. It is perplexed by transposition and errors. But in its gen- 
eral outline it is true. It calls a race, or dynasty, a man. It calls a man, 
a race, perhaps. But that such was its history, and such was its civiliza- 
tion, and such its religion, is truly stated. How then did men come to 
depart so widely from the original stock, in form, features, and color ? In 
habits, laws and government? First it pleased God to separate the 
spirits who desired to leave Paradise into classes. Those whose object 
was travel, or wandering, principally, in one class would make when in 
the body nomadic nations. Those who were inclined to patience in an- 
other. The impatient in a third, and so on. But if existence is so pas- 
sive there how could these qualities be developed ? They were not there 
developed; but God could foresee that such developement would take 
place. Again, how came it that these beings, all emanating from God, 
were so different in character ! Because God willed not to produce 
sameness, but dissimilarity. So that no two were alike, of a number 
greater than the grains of sand containable in a globe like the Earth. 
And how then did not the former inhabitants, earlier attack and overcome 
the Chinese ! Because the greater part of the world's population was 
under that rule, so parental in its character, so Divine in its execution, 
that no rebellion would take place. Such is the History of the Earth . 
chronologically. But you have not given us the years or dates of any 
events ! No I give no outward evidence through this medium. I reserve 
nim for the highest revelations I have to make, and these revelations are 
spiritual. The outward too much obscures the inward, and material too 
much controls spiritual, in most mediums, and by revealments of the 
character you desire, and this medium at first desired, I should obscure 
his spiritual nature, without really advancing your faith. But other me- 
diums will arise, who will be competent for the revealment of the out- 
ward, though not passive enough for the purely inward. Through them 
I will cause lower spirits, to manifest signs and tokens which shall satisfy 
all reasonable seekers, and I will allow them to declare the chronology 
by years and dates, of all the great empires which have existed of late 
upon the Earth, that is of all in which men by their traditions feel an in- 
terest. 

Having disposed of Chronology, let us proceed to discuss Theology, as 
founded upon the History of All Things, Chronologically considered. 



31 



CIIAPTEE VII. 

CHRONOLOGICAL THEOLOGY. 
The History of Chronological Theology. 

§ 27. The Bible is composed of various writings, by various authors 
It is a compilation from different nations too. But of course, the oldest 
nation being the Chinese, all that is authentic of the earliest period, must 
have come from their records. Language was by them first reduced to 
writing. Ideas can be pictured, but language must be written, to be pre 
served in purity, or vigor. When the first records of this kind were 
made, it was found that tradition differed as to the past, and an attempt 
was made, at that early period, to force an agreement between different 
traditions. In this way the time and order of God's creation, was erro- 
neously recorded in the first record. But the tradition as to the forma- 
tion of the Earth, was further obscured by men, endeavoring to bring the 
account into such a shape that they could comprehend, or realize it. 
Their knowledge of science and of astronomy was less than now, and they 
could not conceive of the truth. Therefore the surety of God's power 
was found, by their wise men, to be best understood by the people when 
it was placed in familiar images, and days were used for periods of time. 
Evenings, and mornings, for ends of one period, and beginnings of anoth- 
er. So the book of Genesis was commenced. 

§ 28. But Adam was placed in Paradise, and its locality described as 
being in that central region, south of the Caspian sea, where a delight- 
ful climate and beautiful scenery ever rejoices the eye, and from whence 
the celestial nation, as they still love to call themselves, were forever ex- 
cluded by their love of stationary habits, and their distant position. But 
it says, The Lord God planted a garden Eastward in Eden, and Eden is 
Westward from China, if it be south of the Caspian ! Well this too I 
will explain satisfactorily to candid minds. But first I will proceed with 
my other details. There was also a call heard in Eden. Adam, Where 
art thou? This was symbolical of the progress of souls, or rather spirits, 
of men, in the Paradisaical state, and shows that even in Eden, the tra- 
dition held that God appointed man to be led by him, and to rely on his 
parental care and oversight. It is by such calls on spirits, indeed, that 
they are aroused from their sameness and passive state of enjoyment, and 
led to ask themselves the question, God has been represented to ask in 
proper person himself. But the voice of God is heard in each of the 
Adams, or spirits of men, in Paradise, before they leave it ; asking of 
them where they are, and, Why hast thou found the desire for change ? 
That is, Why hast thou dared to eat of the tree of Knowledge of good and 
evil ? The evil, and the good, are only to be tasted here ; but the desire 
is formed in Paradise for them, and then, as now, men reap as they have 



32 

sown. Various are the motives and extraordinary the excuses given. 
But none is more common than that the pairital companion having tasted 
of the fruit, or of the knowledge, the remaining half desires to follow the 
example. The account therefore is beautifully symbolical, and the glo 
ries of Paradise are only obscured by being too literally taken in the pres- 
ent day. . 

§ 29. When the creation account reaches the expulsion from Paradise, 
it becomes plainer. The first offspring of Adam and Eve, the pairital 
man, was Cain, that is Evil. The second was Abel, that is Peace. But 
the second was overcome by the first, and slain by his own altar, which 
altar was in Adam's heart. But then Seth was born, and Seth was a 
man, and from him, and other sons and daughters, of Adam, were derived 
the succeeding races as they are termed, or race, as I would say, of men. 
The Cain principle, left the immediate vicinity, under Adam's wise man- 
agement, but retired to the land of Nod, where it associated itself with a 
companion, and had a large progeny. It was there that Evil brought forth 
Good, by seeking to teach men arts and sciences, manufactures, and life 
in cities. But where was the land of Nod, and how came it to be peo- 
p'ed, as it appears from the account that it was! It was still in Adam. 
The first man, or pair, having brought forth Evil, first overcame it, and 
held it in subjection by Abel, or Good, or Peace. But, in a moment of 
fury, again Evil prevailed, and slew Adam's Peace. Then the enormity 
of his offence appeared to Adam, and again he brought this rebellious son 
into subjection. His heart again became purified, and the duty of provid 
ing for his now numerous descendants, from that revealed store of knowl 
edge which God had given him, became his chief desire. He became 
convinced that he was his brother's keeper. Then he strove, by impart- 
ing to his descendants, the knowledge respecting the working of metals, 
and the construction of implements of husbandry, and of mechanical and 
manufacturing labor, to perform the duties which God had called him to 
do, and which heretofore Evil principle, or desire, had restrained him from. 
Here then was the land of Nod. The place, or work, or theatre, of duty. 
Here he found his companion, Industry. Her name is not given in the 
Bible, but it may be inferred from the change which took place, in the 
manifestation of Cain, or Evil desire, when placed under the control again 
of the man, or Adam and Eve, and united to Industry. So, to the present 
day it is a proverb, that let a man be idle, and the enemy, which is the 
evil of man's Will left free, will find him employment. Idleness begets 
sin. Industry begets good works. Faithfulness begets reformation, and 
Industry brings forth works meet for repentance. These works are being 
useful to our fellow men, and purifying our hearts, from rebellious desires 
against the happiness of others, or the desire to avoid, or shrink from, 
our own duties. Cain and Abel then represent principles, and the Peace 
principle having been slain, its blood, or memory, cries aloud from the 
earth, or grossness of the heart, for revenge; that is, for restoration to 
life, for resuscitation in the heart, and for having its sacrifices again accep- 
table to man's highest nature ; so that Evil shall be disregarded, and Peace 
alone be found worthy. This outline is sufficient to enable the wise to 
trace out more instruction from it, and from the Mosaical, as it is called, 



but the traditional, as I call it, account of the first proceedings of man on 
the earth. Seth, and the other natural children of Adam and Eve, are 
spoken of as sons and daughters, and the age of Adam is given at Seth's 
birth. But the age is speculative. It was not long after his entrance into 
life, that Eve became prolific ; and, though then the race had long lives, 
they bore children as rapidly as now, and by such means," the world be- 
came so fully populated in 6000 years, that men were with difficulty 
restrained from eating each other. 

§ 30. The account of the descendants of Adam and Eve is continued 
to Noah. But we should regard it as only a similar, or like, statement 
of truth, made by wise men, from the traditions existing at the invention 
of writing, which was not antediluvian. They selected such as would 
seem most in accordance with their experience, and their motives were 
good, and their course was good. It was history, they were writing, and 
not revelation. Noah, was the link between the old and new. Noah, 
was the wisest of his generation, and was a predicted prophet, raised up 
by God to warn, and convict, a wicked world of men, that destruction was 
consequent on disobedience. They would not listen to him. But he listened 
to God, and by God's direction built a vessel called the Ark, which was 
the wonder of those who saw it, and was so superior to all other vessels 
which the antediluvians had seen, that they were willing to worship Noah. 
They did make him king over a vast multitude, and it was by his power 
in that position, that he procured provisions, and stored them ; that he col- 
lected all the Various animals which accompanied him in the Ark. So, 
having sufficiently sketched the Antediluvian History, let us proceed with 
the Postdiluvian. The vigor of constitution, the long life inherent to the 
antediluvians, continued to decline under the sons and descendants of 
Noah. But this was gradual, and was owing to the modification of the 
atmosphere, consequent upon the disruption of the Earth's moon. Shem, 
Flam, and Japhet, or rather Japhet, Ham, and Shem, for such was their 
order of birth, became the rulers of their descendants, because of the 
patriarchal character of the government of Noah, who himself continued 
to be the supreme ruler of the race of men, till his death, whish was 600 
years after the flood. 

§ 31. This you say differs from the Genesis account. Because in that 
is a transposition, his 600 years before the flood, as in that account, should 
be after it. Of this you can have no proof, except that I am revealing to 
you the knowledge possessed by the Fourth sphere of spirits. The First 
circle of that sphere are attentive to the openings of Divine Harmony, 
and receive with implicit faith these Historical Truths. Till they have 
done so*, they cannot progress to the Second circle In the Second circle 
they find the history of other planets. In the Third circle, that of other 
systems. In the Fourth circle, the history of the Universe to which the 
solar system of the Earth belongs. In the Fifth circle, the history of the 
previous condition of the vast circle of Universes, which revolve in har- 
mony, around a vast circuit of the illimitable space, in which God's crea- 
tion is expanded, and unfolded. Myriads of myriads of Universes, com- 
pose this Caelum, or Heavenly-Association-of-associated-universes revolving 
about their common center. Each universe is attended by, or composed 

5 



34 

of, myriads of myriads of myriads, of Suns, each having its planets, moons, 
comets, and invisible, or unprogressed, satellites. So proceeds the Order 
of God's creation. So it is governed by one law. For God does not am- 
plify into a long extended fiat, his will. He speaks and it is done. But 
beyond this Coelum, or Heavenly Association of associated universes, 
comes, or succeeds, another, vaster, and more illimitable, more incompre- 
hensible to man ; an Association-of-Ccelums, or Associated-Associations- 
of-Universes, the History of which becomes revealed to spirits who reach 
the Sixth circle of the Fourth sphere. Again, the great Whole of God's 
Creation, bears a still higher relation to this Circle, or Association-of-Asso- 
ciations, in that its Association-of-Associations-of-Associations, is far more 
numerous, far more illimitable than the lower ones. In fact, each upward 
ascent gives iucreased numbers of principal associated bodies, till this last 
may well be called infinite. Though it is not infinite. God only is infinite. 
It is then the knowledge of the History of All the Created bodies of God's 
Creation becomes revealed to the spirits of men, either from the Earth, 
or any other inhabited globe, (and all are inhabited;) I say, all this knowl- 
edge, so nearly infinite as it is, and as you can perceive it must be, is re- 
vealed to spirits of men in the Seventh circle of the Fourth sphere. 

§ 32. What then remains for higher circles, when so much is received 
in passing through the Fourth sphere? God will be able to provide nov- 
elties more stupendous even than these, for he is unlimited by any thing 
but his own will. But moreover he has provided already for those who 
are in the Fifth sphere, in the following manner. 

First circle. Knowledge of Law, in its manifestations of Love. 
Second circle- Knowledge of Love, in its manifestations in universal 
Progress. 

Third circle. Knowledge of the Infinite nature, of God's attributes of 
Love, and Mercy, and every good man's fate. 

Fourth circle. The Infinite knowledge of Infinity of worlds and men, 
of their relations to God, and to each other. By this foresight is highly 
developed. Prophets may be inspired by this circle, and though they 
may sometimes fail, it will seldom be so. 

Fifth circle. Prophecy, by knowledge of God's revealed purposes. 
Not all the revelations that God makes to spirits, can, however, give them 
a knowledge of what a man will do. For men are free agents. But, the 
laws of being are so understood, that man's course can be conjectured, or 
judged of, with reasonable certainty. Then this circle have such knowl- 
edge, as will assist them materially, by being above all the lower and baser 
affections of men's spirits, which are not entirely got rid of till elevated' 
into this circle. The last circle was purified of all but love of power, 
and this advance, completed the purification. The next, or 

Sixth circle. Is an advance manifested by the power of spirits to dis- 
cern the intentions of men, by looking into future minds, yet in Paradise, 
as well as by judging from what can be seen in present minds, in bodies. 
Seventh circle of the Fifth sphere. Where can we place any more ex- 
tension of knowledge of men ? For the knowledge obtained in this sphere 
is a Knowledge of Man. In the Fourth, it is a knowledge of material or 
outward History. In the Fifth of Spiritual or Inward History. What 



then remains for the Seventh circle. It is a knowledge of Spirit revela- 
tion from the beginning. Of all that God has revealed, in all ages of Cre- 
ation, in all time of his existence. But his existence is eternal. Yes, 
and the knowledge, which spirits add to their former stock by passing 
through the Circle, is almost infinite. But not infinite, because Infinity 
cannot be received by a part of God. And man's soul, or self, is a part 
of God. as I showed in the First Book. 

13. What then remains for the Sixth sphere? Abundance. God 
has not exhausted his resources of employing, and forwarding in progress, 
spirits who know all that I have described. In the Sixth sphere spirits 
are employed in calmly waiting upon God's benevolent merciful Works. 
They are the Servants of his Will. The Word of his Power. The 
Honor of his Nature. They stand before the throne of his mercy, ever 
praising God for his loving kindness to all men. And, when they would 
change the song of, Lord have mercy upon us miserable sinners, which 
men so delight to declare with their lips, they sing, Great and marvellous 
are thy works; Just and True are all thy Ways. Thou King of saints. 
Well but is this peculiar to the Sixth sphere ? Oh no ! All spirits do 
this who know God. And they who have reached the Third Sphere, 
may be said to know him, though, necessarily, it is an imperfect knowl- 
edge of his attributes and actions. But what are the distinctive features, 
of the progressive march of spirits through the circles of this high sphere. 
They are Sons of God, now on his right hand. Nor fully entered into 
his glory, but yet judging the world from which they have escaped. They 
are elevated to Power. Power is the distinguishing element of advance 
iu this sphere. Action becomes their duty, instead of mere reception of 
Knowledge, as in the Fifth sphere: of mere learning History, as in the 
Fourth sphere; or, of mere learning of Memory, as in Third sphere; or 
of mere Reconciliation with God, as in the Second sphere ; or of mere 
Experience of Good and Evil as in the First sphere. 

§ 34. Now, we will proceed to give you a list of the employments, or 
advances, of the various circles of the Sixth sphere, and of the first three 
circles of the Seventh. The last four circles of that sphere, having been 
first of all described. 

First circle. Sixth sphere. The Power of Prophecy respecting f»kire 
events. As manifested in Daniel. Ezekiel and other prophets. The An- 
gel Gabriel, as the spirits of this Sphere were called, was a manifestatioi 
in the outward of this Circle. The Jews had received the names of sev- 
eral circles, from the traditions of older nations. But only Gabriel has 
been handed down to us, as a high spirit of God, in the record called the 
Bible. What then are the names of the other circles ? you may enquire. 
Not profitably though, for though the names are significant, they are only 
so to knowledge of their signification. Even Gabriel, is now misunder- 
stood. Its true meaning is what I have declared; but do you find com- 
mentators arriving at this conclusion ? By no means. What then are the 
•vays. and preachings, of the other circles, of this sphere. In the Second 
:ircle, the Power of Love of God, to reform the souls of men, enters 
nto the progressing spirit. Next, in the Third circle, it receives the 



36 

Power of Will. That is the power to will the accomplishment of objects 
through the manifestation of the physical. 

§ 35. It is to spirits of this circle, that the rappings in their origin may 
be referred. Not that they rap, but they by their will, cause the outward 
demonstration to be made through lower spirits, none of whom are above 
the Second sphere, nor above the Fourth circle of that sphere. But then 
many have declared their communications to be higher than that! Yes ; 
but these spirits either spoke in the name of the higher spirit; or they 
assumed a position, or the name of a position, they had not arrived at. 
But can these spirits be permitted to mislead men so ! Have they mis- 
lead them ? When they have declared themselves belonging to the higher 
spheres, did you believe them ? No. You scouted that idea. You re- 
solved to have low ones, those who had been, of late, associated in the 
body in the family circle. And if they deceived you into a belief of their 
advancement, it was because you willed to have them higher, and because 
you did not submit to be led by them, but asked, not for the will of God 
to be done, but for the will you possessed to be done. And the will you 
had, was a will of your own, which was controlling to the spirit. 

§ 36. For the spirit, or spirits, can only communicate to you in some 
will, and in accordance with that will. If it be your will, which is acted 
in, or under, it will be variable, or constant, as that will may happen to be. 
If it be the will of a higher spirit, then the communication will be truth- 
ful, so long as you submit, and are passive. But when you contend with 
the spirit, either by doubting or disputing the ideas, or disclaiming its 
agency, you either stop the communion, or bring the spirit again under 
your power. For whatever man chooses, he does. If he chooses to have 
his own will gratified, he may have it, at least to his own confusion. But 
if he chooses God's will for his ruler, or communicator, or for his inter- 
preter, he will obtain truth if he gets revelation. How is that? Does 
not the man get an answer always when he acts in God's will ? When 
he acts in God's will, he does not ask for information, or communications. 
&e leaves it to God. He receives what God gives, without question, or 
answer. Without doubt, and without rebellion. But my friends, few 
very few, have been willing, even at times, to receive so. Nearly all have 
a purpose to obtain, other than doing God's work. My medium first acted 
in his own will. I tried his willingness to obey me. I found an inclina- 
tion, but not a controlling one. Then I commenced trying him by doubts, 
and false impressions, by fooling him as he called it, and by various trials, 
during which he sometimes rebelled most thoroughly, and at other times 
submitted most perfectly. But he was unstable. I could not depend on 
him. I left him. Then I caused him to read, and reason, and at last he saw 
his error. He saw that passive ness and submission is the great require- 
ment, that his will was the sacrifice demanded. Even now, he fears that 
he does not keep himself passive enough. But I do not allow him to 
write erroneously, because I have now other objects than his own im- 
provement. I have now to promote the increase of general knowledge. 
The advancement of sound doctrine. The true knowledge of God. And, 
the everlasting welfare of mankind. With such results afFectable by my 



37 

errors, or my medium's errors, I shall not allow any to escape notice, 
either now, or hereafter. Be then no longer fearful, or unbelieving ; but 
be submissive, and be taught as a little child. For, unless ye become as 
little children, ye can in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. It is now 
true, as it was when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, that men 
must become as little children. That is must receive the Divine teach 
ings with faith, and confidence, or they cannot make any progress. It is 
in every man's power, to resist all progress of belief in his mind, or faith 
in his heart. It is also in his power, to yield either, or both. Many say 
they cannot help their belief. But this is an error. We can control our 
belief. Free-will is the deity of man, as I have before stated, and shown. 
But Free-will can cause no man to believe, or to refuse to entertain the 
truth. If men would believe the truth, they must ask God in sincerity, 
in their private hours, in every act of their lives, to help them to know 
what to believe. They must learn to be independent of man, whose 
breath is in his nostrils, and rely on the help of God, which will probably 
be given, through the medium of men, whose breath is the power and 
will of God ; that is spirits of the Third Society, or Circle, of the Sixth 
sphere. 

§ 37. The Fourth Society has the Power of the Will of man. Thaf 
is it has the Power to influence the will of man by externals, such as 
miracles. Such as were performed for Jesus of Nazareth, for Gideon, for 
Sampson, and for others of the past time. But, in the present time, they 
have acted through lower spirits, such as the Fifth circle of the Second 
sphere, sending forward the influence of the higher spirit, manifest to men 
as their work. That is the moving of material objects; disturbing the 
atmosphere, by which sounds are produced, proceeds from the circle below, 
as I have explained; but the moving of solid materials is the province, 
or peculiar sphere of power, of those who have attained to this circle. 
The high circles, always have the power of lower ones, in addition to 
those peculiar to them. Then why do not these spirits act directly upon 
man? Because man desires lower spirits to act, or else, he does not ren- 
der himself fit by subjection, and patience, to be associated directly with 
the higher. 

But the Sixth circle, of the Fourth sphere, has also the power of 
knowledge of God's intentions respecting man's government, and through 
them some of the miracles are performed. Miracles, we call them, be- 
cause that name conveys to you the proper meaning. They are pro- 
ceedings, or operations, in the Will of God, but yet beyond, or apart, from 
the ordinary law, or rule of government of material substances. They 
are departures from what are properly called laws of nature, or the laws 
which subject matter to relations of materiality with regard to men. 

The Fifth circle, of this Fourth sphere, devoted to the acquisition of 
Knowledge of the past, in the Universe of God, pertaining most inti- 
mately with their original Earth or globe of matter, has also the power 
to affect the matter of their own planet, or globe. The Sixth circle of 
that sphere has power over the matter of the System of which they 
were inhabitants. The Seventh, over the matter of which their Universe 
is comprised. 



38 

Then proceeding upwards, this power is extended step by step, in each 
circle of the Fifth sphere, till it arrives at general power in all created 
bodies, in the Third circle. Then commences another manifestation of 
Power, in the Fourth circle of the Fifth sphere. That is, the Power of 
Knowledge of the Laws of Matter, in all its various relations. First, con- 
fined in this circle, to their own planet or globe, and so extending, step 
by step, as Knowledge of History extended; a step to each circle of ad- 
vancement, till all is attained in this branch of Knowledge, in the Sixth 
sphere Third circle. The Fourth circle of the Sixth sphere, then takes 
cognizance of the Laws of Spiritual Relations, first, in their own globe or 
planet, whether it be primary, secondary, or central. In a similar way 
with the Knowledge of Material Laws, now step by step, and circle by 
circle, they proceed, till having received a Knowledge of all the Spiritual 
Laws of government, in the Third circle of the- Seventh sphere, the 
Mind, or Spirit of man, is ready to act in the Fourth circle, of the Sev- 
enth sphere, in the Will of God in any part of his creation. This power 
is exercised, in general, through lower spirits, each having their proper 
working sphere. Then the higher circles are employed in accordance 
with their position, before described in this book. 

Now the Sixth circle of the Fifth sphere, has no Knowledge of the du- 
ties of the Seventh circle. For the knowledge of a part, is not a knowl- 
edge of another part, in God's creation. Spirits cannot infer from anal- 
ogy, as men do. Because the laws of God, though concise and general, 
are so influenced, or modified, in their application, without there being 
however any change of law, that they produce an infinite variety. As 
well might a man undertake to describe a Malay, because he had seen a 
Hollander, as to describe Saturn, because his spirit was acquainted with 
Earth ; or the Solar system of Sirius, because the full knowledge of this 
Solar system, had been revealed to him. And so it is, through all God's 
Works, Laws, and Will. 

We will now return to the explanation, of the extension of Spirit 
capacity for Action, in the Sixth sphere. The Fifth circle extends a 
step beyond the Fourth, having the Power of the knowledge of the will 
of men, throughout the system to which he originally, or more properly, 
in the body, belonged. This Power extends to influencing the will of all 
these beings in the body, which is a higher power than influencing beings 
in spirit, by miracles or disturbances of matter, in a novel, or unaccus- 
tomed manner. And thus the extension of the sphere of operations, 
extends upwards, step by step, and circle by circle, till the Fourth circle 
of the Seventh sphere is reached, where all Knowledge of Will is re- 
ceived, including the Whole Expressed Will of God. The Fifth circle 
know his Power. Power therefore is a higher form of Knowledge than 
Will, and it commences in its development in spirits, or its revelation to 
them, or bestowment upon them, in all cases, and each form of mani- 
festation, at one step above Will. So too, Love is higher than Power, 
and Action higher than Love, and so, each of these forms of God's na- 
ture, become impressed on the advancing spirits of men, at a step above 
the preceding, and continue always in the same precise relation to each 
other, in the spirit, or mind, of man, either in, or out of, the body. 



39 

§ 38. The digression, of explaining the nature of the different circles, 
seems to have been required for the satisfaction of such minds, as have 
been very curious about the future state of their souls, and have doubted 
whether they could continue to learn to all eternity, supposing they could 
soon arrive at perfect knowledge, if they had the opportunity. Now they 
will perceive that advancement is slowly made ; and that, of necessity, 
the progression of spirits is never ended, was shown in the First book. 
But then Jesus of Nazareth, was said to have reached the high station of 
Son of God, and Ruler of the Earth, very soon after the death of the 
body. For he declared, All power is given me both in Heaven, and on 
Earth. This power though was given him under the influence of, and by 
direction of, the same spirit that aided him, as his Christ on Earth, when 
he was in the body. By continuing his perfect submission and passive- 
ness, his progress was rapid, and he arrived very soon, comparatively, at 
the Seventh circle of the Seventh sphere. And yet is only lately, that 
he arrived in it, and it is by his Action, which only could commence when 
he arrived in that sphere, and only could be perfect when in the Seventh 
circle, that he causes, oris allowed by God to cause, the manifestations, 
which are now awakening mankind " from ignorance, fear, and torturing 
doubt." See title page of First book. 

THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF NOAH. 

§ 39. The sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japhet, or, as I said, more 
properly Japhet, Ham and Shem, left their father Noah to rule the Chi- 
nese nation. They divided the Earth between them, and as they had 
long lives each lived to found a powerful Kingdom, and to rule in pa- 
triarchal simplicity, and unlimited, or parental power, over extensive 
countries. 

Shem founded first the nation afterwards dwelling in India. They first 
explored the valleys of the Ganges and its branches, and there the seat of 
their power and principal cities continued ever to remain. Japhet was 
the second to leave the parent stock with a colony. He led them to 
Greece and there founded his empire or Kingdom. The mountains and 
valleys of this region interposed obstacles to the retention of power long in 
his proper line. Soon his descendants branched themselves into nu- 
merous colonies, of which one, the most important, led his followers back- 
ward towards China till they reached the fertile plains of Mesopotamia. 
There Nimrod, a great grandson of Asshur, or grandson of Noah, grew 
so powerful as to excite the jealousy of the poorer branches of Japhet's 
stock, who desired to share in the wealth and luxury which already be- 
gan to prevail. How could the world so soon become so populous ! By 
long life yet inherent in mankind, and by great vigor and health, which 
also characterized the race, as the remains of still greater manifestations, 
of both these, formerly existing anterior to the deluge. So rapid was the 
increase, that vast works were undertaken. The pyramids of Egypt, are 
only built after earlier models, of the works of Japhet's descendants set- 
tled in Assyria and Mesopotamia. The first great disturbance of har- 
mony, arose from an immense structure, undertaken by an early ruler of 
Babylon, called in the Bible the Tower of Babel. A general rebellion 



40 

took place, and under various patriarchal leaders, the people separated 
into various nations, or tribes of people ; some eastward, some northward, 
some westward again into Palestine, Phenicia, and Ionia. Others pene- 
trated into Egypt, and there founded another durable Kingdom, which 
long retained in great purity, the primeval religion. There still remained 
a vast multitude, who, though exasperated with their prince, who had 
been such a severe taskmaster, again submitted to him on his promises of 
amendment, and relinquishment of his burdensome proceedings. When 
all were again quiet, he took such measures as enabled him to make his 
rule more sure and independent. He maintained, for the first, an army 
trained to obedience, and urged by various motives to adhere to him, rath- 
er than to his nation. Then having an army, he found it convenient to 
use it against other nations, and he gradually, again acquired the rule over 
a large portion of those who had fled from his burdens. But Egypt for a 
long period retained its independence ; not as an aggressive, but as a re- 
sistant people, they were distinguished. 

The last great branch, or colony, that left the Chinese family, un- 
der the conduct of a son of Noah, was Ham. He led his followers, 
Westward ; and finding all the most fertile valleys already occupied by his 
brother's descendants, he passed on, in a peaceful and easy way, till he 
reached the Nile, when he ascended that oceanic river to its sources, 
where he established his seat of empire. This was long maintained as a 
splendid and wealthy and powerful empire, till centuries after the down- 
fall of Troy. The last of the kingdoms of the early world after the del- 
uge, was founded in Italy. A few dissatisfied, law breaking, vagabondic 
individuals of Greece, as since called, were led by Pyrrhus to Rome, or 
to where Rome afterward existed, or came into existence. There is a 
scheme, which bears a resemblance to History, sacred and profane, as 
men choose to designate it! Now, I will give a brief, but true sketch of 
it, as it really was. 

§ 40. Noah, was the first ruler of China, or the nation since called 
Chinese. Its seat was then Central Asia or Thibet. His sons were at 
first his only subjects, but the prolific nature of the antediluvians, and 
their fondness for the multiplication of the species, promoted the fulfil- 
ment of God's first command after the Deluge. Increase and multiply 
and replenish the Earth. Their long lives, nearly all passed in maturity, 
and vigor, and their powerful frames, enabled them to subdue nature, and 
behold their descendants thickly settled around them. But none of them 
even left the parent stock, or dispersed themselves. Long centuries 
afterward, individuals scattered themselves abroad, and pushed beyond 
the outskirts, or boundaries, of the general population. Then, sometimes, 
they established a separate government. For at that time government 
rested upon the will and consent of the governed. These scattered peo- 
ple also progressed in population, and being of a wandering disposition, 
transmitted the more of such inclination to their descendants ; who thus 
became more and more roving in their disposition, and habits, till they 
abandoned settled homes, and roamed at large upon the vast plains that 
abound with rich pasturage, and yield an easy, and roving, form of living 



41 

for nations to this day. They gladly left the old stock, which as gladly 
spared them. 

These offshoots carried with them their family heads, who became their 
rulers, and as chance directed, led their followers to the various parts of 
the earth. The names of the sons of Noah, and of their descendants, 
given in the book of Genesis, are but the names of nations, or tribes of peo- 
ple, who scattered themselves gradually over the face of the Earth. Ship 
building was as well known then, as it is now by Chinese, and seas 
formed no obstacle to their extension. America was settled early, and 
Africa became a nursery of nations. India was an early government, that re- 
tained much of the customs of the primeval or antediluvian world. Egypt 
was a later one, and though a greater difference was here perceptible, it 
was still a near relationship. Very soon three great empires became 
prominent. Egypt Assyria and India. It was these which bore the 
names of Ham, Japhet and Shem. The parent stock of Noah, tended 
to its present seaboard location, and no emigration proceeded from it, 
after the first offshoots were established. Tiie people were, as I have 
stated, stationary, by habit, custom, and inclination. The restless natures 
of Paradise were born into other nations, and, by that arrangement, quiet 
was preserved in one corner of the earth, whilst turbulence and progres- 
sion appeared in other parts. But this turbulence led to a decline of 
knowledge, and civilization, and in the lapse of ages, many tribes be- 
came barbarous, and afterward savage. Large portions of Earth became 
a wilderness of forest; and men gathered about the few civilized, and 
central, empires, watching for spoil, when not wandering as shepherds or 
hunters. The whole of Asia was sometimes under the nominal sway of 
the parent stock. But the parent stock never secured permanent sway 
beyond their original boundaries, and settlements, as established by grad- 
ual increase of their population. The last time their sway was extended 
over Asia, was ten thousand years ago, when the learned men of the other 
nations, conceiving that such a rule would increase the general happiness of 
all, persuaded the rulers of the western nations, to submit their differ- 
ences to arbitration, and themselves to the headship of the prince, or sov- 
ereign, or patriarch, of China. But the virtue of the nobles was not equal 
to the wisdom of the priests, and they soon broke up the confederacy; as 
it was, rather than an empire. Names, and dates, in these distant pe- 
riods, cannot have an interest to men so unlearned as those in the body, 
unless they refer to those of whom tradition has preserved some record. 
And as I am not prepared to give an outward proof, or test, through this 
medium, I shall not trench upon the authentic, or partially authentic, 
historical records. But I will briefly describe the relation that existed be- 
tween the religious, and military, aristocracy in the early empires, and the 
course of descent by which the father of the Jewish nation came. 

§ 41. The military aristocracy was founded later than the priestly. For 
when Noah left the ark he built an altar, and made sacrifice thereon to 
God. The patriarch continued to be the chief, or high priest, and from 
the wisest, and most venerable in after times, the sovereign continued to 
call assistance in the performance of religious worship, which was ad- 
dressed to the One Almighty Creator, whom they knew by revelation 

6 



42 

made originally to the first man, which tradition had descended, in the 
antediluvian population, with great purity, in one branch, that to which 
Noah belonged. Noah, too, was a spiritually minded man, and was a 
prophet and seer. He received corrected ideas of the nature of God, of 
his relationship to Him, directly from the Spirit world. God continued 
to raise up spiritually minded men, amongst the early inhabitants of the 
world, and continued thus to receive a pure worship, for a long period. 
At last the high priests established rules promoting their dignity, and the 
dignity of their order. This was in their own will, and separated them 
from God, and from spiritual communications. The priesthood should be 
the most humble of mankind, for if they best know God, it should make 
them most desirous of serving him, and other men than themselves. This 
desire to serve others will prevent them from assuming to rule, where 
they need only to serve. It is men's invention, by which they undertake 
to benefit others by force, or by assuming the leadership, or government. 
The last exhibition, of this change of relationship, which occurred in the 
ancient world, was in Assyria ; where, till a very late period, the worship 
was pure, and the priests humble. Egypt and India sooner departed, 
and the smaller tribes or peoples, scattered abroad over the globe, very 
soon allowed their revelations to become corrupted by love of power. 
The priests bear rule, for the people will have it so, says the Scripture, 
and the temptation to the priest to yield, is very strong, when he conducts 
himself with sincere desires for truth and good. But priests, like other 
men, are fallible. Mediums, like other men, are fallible. And the only 
way they keep themselves in union with truth, is by a constant sacrifice 
of their own wills, upon the altar of God's Love, and in submission, en- 
tire, and unwavering, to his slightest spiritual impression, or revelation. 

§ 42. For the difference between impression, and revelation, is this. 
The former, is felt within a man. The other, is manifest to his senses. 
The one exists merely in ideas and feelings. The other is known by 
words, and actions. The one, is the kind generally experienced. The other, 
is the extraordinary, and for special purposes. The one, will always be 
found within man, if he will attend to it, when he seeks for it. The other, 
will only be found when God has a work for the man to perform towards 
others. The one, is for the man himself, the other, is for the man's fel- 
low men. The one, may lead a man to declare his impressions, but the 
influence of the man's mind must pervade them. The other, will proba- 
bly lead a man to declare his knowledge, but he will not do it without 
command, or permission; and he will not declare them, if obedient, except 
in the will of God, and as far as possible in the words given him. This 
book is revelation. Most sermons are impressions. This medium acts 
by revelation. George Fox, Charles Wesley, Martin Luther, Calvin, 
Knox, etc., acted by impression. The one, can greatly instruct the indi- 
vidual, and lead him to benefit, and teach others; the other, leads the 
medium to serve God, and others, by specific acts, the form, manner, and 
time, of whose performance, God, or his spirit, makes known to the me- 
dium, who cannot disobey without condemnation. The general life of the 
one, must be more consistent, than the other, necessarily is. Because 
the one, acts generally, and much, by his intellect. The other, acts spe- 



43 

cially, and without much, if any, exertion or use of intellect. What then 
is the relation they bear to each other? They are often conjoined. But 
when separate, the one, declares; the other, confirms. The one, reveals ; 
the other, receives, and judges. The one, is direct revelation; and the 
other, is secondary revelation ; or, rather the reception of revelation. The 
one, is a medium of transmission; the other, is a medium of reception. 
The one, may not be benefited personally; the other, must necessarily 
be. So it is better to receive, than to deliver; when the thing transmitted, 
is from God. But the things of earth, are the opposite of heavenly; and 
it is better to give, than to receive, from men. The change I make in 
designating the two kinds of revealment is instructive. In the first part, 
I call the revelation, the other. In the last part, I call the revelation, the 
one. But in the first part, I speak of it as it has been ; in the last part, I 
allude to it as it will be. Hereafter, direct revelation will be more com- 
mon than formerly, and the days, of general reception of revelation, are 
at hand. These will be happy days for men, when they can receive con- 
stant and reliable directions, respecting every thing in which their tempo- 
ral, or eternal welfare is concerned. When advice, and aid, will be freely 
rendered to all who can serve, and obey, God ; or, what is the same, his 
Holy Spirits. 

§ 43. But now let us return to our subject, the Chronology of Mankind 
after the Flood. 

The Jews are descended from Abraham. Abraham was a Chaldean, 
or Assyrian, or a descendant of citizens of the primeval empire, of the 
great and fertile valley of Mesopotamia. For all these names, may with 
propriety be bestowed upon the region, in which Terah, and his ances- 
tors resided. Abraham left that country, impressed by God with the 
belief, that he should found a mighty nation; and, having settled in Ca- 
naan, he cultivated the most friendly relations with its wisest princes. His 
existence in the body was real, for he was a man. and not a nation, as 
was Heber, and Terah, and others of the names mentioned in the Gen- 
esis account. Abraham lived many hundred years earlier, than chronol- 
ogy generally reckons him to have done. But yet, his life was compara- 
tively recent. Egypt records a long line of kings, who reigned before 
Abraham visited that country, and yet, when Abraham was there, rever- 
ence for God, as one God, existed in full force, as may be seen by the 
allusions of Pharoah, or the High Priest Sovereign of Egypt, as recorded 
in Genesis. He feared God, and feared to do evil to Abraham, or his 
wife, because he believed that God required him to dispense justice, in- 
stead of gratifying his passions. Few absolute kings behave better in 
these Christian times. Four hundred and eighty years after the death 
of Abraham, the descendants of Jacob left Egypt, under the leadership 
of Moses; as I have already specified, not as a nation, but as a party in 
favor of the restoration of revelation, and religious knowledge, to the peo- 
ple. Even now, the pyramids contain the records of the revelation of 
former ages. The traditions of the Noahic family of man, are no where 
else so well preserved as there. Moses knew them all. He was edu- 
cated in all their learning, and, like every heir apparent to the Pharaonic 
throne, was educated as the future High Priest of Egypt. The chief 



44 

portions of them, he embodied in the Book of Genesis. But the disor- 
ders of the early Jewish condition, during which they were often subject 
to the surrounding nations, and oftener plunged, as a nation, in shameful 
and odious idolatry, and superstition, caused the loss of their fullness, and 
the beautiful, and consistent, account he recorded, has thus been reduced 
to a few fragments. My medium is not passive enough yet, to let me 
write this account, as I would, for restoration ; but the time is not distant, 
when it will be discovered in the Pyramid of Ghizeh. Why do I not 
tell you just where to look? some will say. Because, as I have said, I 
give through this medium no outward proof. Why do you tell then, that 
it will be found soon in a certain Pyramid, if you give no outward proof? 
Because I know you will not take it as any proof when found, for you will 
attribute the coincidence to chance, or to a bold guess. Let us proceed. 
§ 44. Did Joshua march his men about Jericho for seven days, till the 
walls fell at the sound of his trumpets? Yes. But meanwhile his 
armies had underworked the walls, and his attentive enemy had only 
watched his outward manoeuvres. Did the sun and moon stand still at 
his command, or prayer, so that the daylight, and moonlight, were pro- 
longed? Yes. The Sun, and the Moon, were upon the banners of the 
Canaanites ; and by his prayer to God, they were brought to a standstill 
upon Gibeon, and Ajalon. Then the light of day was prolonged by a 
peculiar kind of zodiacal light, sometimes seen in those regions. The 
wonderful destruction thus caused in the enemy's army, was long remem- 
bered, and was connected with the manner of its accomplishment, in such 
way, as most naturally to lead to considering it a stupendous miracle. 
It would have been more than a miracle, because it would have required 
a suspension of God's laws of movement, in all the space of creation; or, 
an exception to have been established for the earth, and its solar system. 
In which case it would have been equivalent to a new law of God. The 
record of the Creation then would have been incomplete. God could not 
have been in a state of rest, after man was made a living body and soul. 
For, by Joshua's request he must have made another law, which would, 
to God, have been the same as making another creation. For matter was 
spoken into existence, and order, by a law. No, the author of the Pen- 
tateuch did not regard it as a miracle of that kind. For he does not men- 
tion it as a very extraordinary thing, as it would have been had it involved 
a new creation of law by God. A miracle is not a departure from God's 
laws. It is a manifestation of an unknown law of God, to man. When 
Christ healed the sick, restored the lame, the blind, and the palsied, and 
the lunatic, he did not violate but exercised God's laws. He did not use 
new laws, but applied old ones. He did not fall down in wonder, nor ask 
those who saw them to do so. He did them as simple acts of benevo- 
lence. And though the same kind of works, were performed often by 
the apostles, before and after his death upon the cross, and by others of 
the primitive Christian church, yet none of the workers, or witnesses of 
them, thought they saw God's laws, which are his will's manifestations, 
violated. Then was not the raising of Lazarus a miracle ? Yes, a mira- 
cle, but not a violation of God's law. The extraordinary, and isolated 
character, of this manifestation of knowledge of God's law, leads me to 



45 

dwell longer upon this subject, and to relate its circumstances more fully. 
When Jesus started for Bethany, he did so by a Divine intimation that 
Lazarus was sick. When he arrived there, the family were weeping for 
his loss. Jesus asked, Where have you laid him? They conducted him 
to the tomb. He ordered the stone to be removed. His sisters tried to 
persuade Jesus, that their brother was already corrupted, by decomposi- 
tion of the body having commenced. Jesus knew better than they did, 
for he perceived he had been buried in a trance. He then called him, 
saying, Lazarus come forth, and he came forth, bound hand and foot, and 
the napkin, as usual with corpses in those days, tied over his head and 
face. Loose him, and let him go; said Jesus. His life was saved, not 
restored. He was not dead, but was in a trance. How then did he 
come forth bound hand and foot. The angels of God, the spirits that once 
dwelt in bodies as men, attended with pleasure to the wants and wishes 
of Jesus, for Jesus served his Father, and brought his whole life, and min- 
istry, into entiie subjection to, and passiveness before, God. He then 
acted always in God's will, and in God's pleasure. Not that God did the 
will of Jesus, but that Jesus did the will of God. God then being willing 
to have Lazarus continue longer upon the earth, in a bodily condition, pre- 
served his life, when threatened by disease. He allowed the appearance 
of death to take place, and still kept him alive, even in the tomb, for three 
days. Then Jesus came, and God had sent him there. Then he caused 
Jesus to pray, and give to God the glory of saving the life of Lazarus. 
Then God caused the knowledge of this will to be known to spirits, who, 
delighting to do God's will, brought forth Lazarus by their invisible bodies, 
and strength, and placed him upon his feet, where they sustained him ; 
till the attendants in the body obeyed Jesus' command, to loose him, 
and let him go. To all appearance, the dead was raised. But yet there 
was no such violation of God's order, and law. For God himself, does not 
for himself, contradict his own law, or set aside his own resolves. In him 
is no shadow of turning. But he foresees all, and provides for all and 
every contingency, and emergency. As this was easily foreseen, there 
could have been no need to violate his own law, much less to allow it to 
be violated, for the sake of a body more or less in the world. No, it was 
a miracle ; and not a violation of God's laws. It was a manifestation of 
God's provident care for all his servants, and all his creatures. Not a 
sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. How then should Laza- 
rus' danger escape his observation ? Well, then, miracles are not miracles 
after all 1 you ask. No, my friend, I say not so. I say, miracles are 
actions under, or manifestations of, God's laws; the existence of which is 
not generally understood, and sometimes not even understood by those 
who are agents in their performance. So when Jesus declared he could 
by prayer have the aid of more than twelve legions of angels, he knew 
that God would answer his prayer if it was a consistent one; and that a 
much larger number than that, (say 72,000 men would be the usual com- 
plement,) were constantly about him ready and desirous of doing the will 
of God, either by making an outward demonstration, or assisting in a spiritual 
manner, by operations upon the hearts of such men, as opened their hearts 
at the words of encouragement, or warning, spoken by the Holy Jesus 



46 



chaptee Yiir: 

JESUS CHRIST. 
The History of Chronological Theology Continued. 

§ 45. The last points I shall notice, in this part of my subject, will be 
he Death and Resurrection of Jesus, his ascension, and his legacies. 

His History in general I gave in the First Book. When he knew that 
he was to be crucified, he informed his disciples of it ; and it was then,' 
that Peter was rebuked as Satan, the Enemy, or Accuser of his brother. 
For in accusing Jesus, as he virtually did, of acting in his own will, he de- 
rided his inspiration. But Jesus, resisted the temptation of shrinking 
from the horrible death, he was directed to, and went on his way peace- 
fully, and endeavoring to be useful to the last, to his brethren. But in the 
garden of Gethsemane, he departed from that perfect resignation which 
had previously possessed him, and in praying the Father to change his 
determination, brought upon himself condemnation, for which he atoned, 
oy a descent into the place of departed spirits, instead of an ascension, to 
[he brightness of a redeemed Son of God. Still, though this unpardon- 
able sin of disobeying, or declining for a time to obey, a known law of God, 
that is, any expressed will of his, had to be atoned for, yet the atonement 
was slight, compared with the offence ; for God knew the great trial it 
was, and felt that the sacrifice, of youthful life, and vigor in the body, was 
i painful one. And he, at last, made the sacrifice with dignity, propriety, 
and resignation. And was not that atonement enough? Not in his case, 
for though he had performed so many mighty works, and led such a use- 
ful, and blameless, life, yet, he had been most highly favored, by the aid 
of another Christ, or Son and Sent, of God, who had inspired, and led, 
him to a knowledge of the power, and love of God, and the duties all men 
owe to him. And to whom much is given, much is required. This is the 
great reason. His advantages, for having willingness to be obedient to 
God's inspiration, or revelation within him, were greater than any other. 
He had started in life in the body, with a spirit actuated with a desire to 
serve God, and be useful to men. He had been born free from bodily 
lust, and was thus secured from one of the most powerful temptations that 
assail men in the body. He had been carefully trained by a pious father, 
and an affectionate mother, who devoted the first twelve years of their 
union entirely to his service. He was filled with a high, and powerful, 
Christ, operating upon his mind from his childhood. That Christ, whose 
parentage, or birthplace, I have explained, and who was then already a 
glorified Son of God, existing at his right hand, and elevated to the sev- 
enth circle, of the seventh sphere. With these advantages, his fall was 
more reprehensible, than it would have been in another man. Yet God's 
justice was tempered by mercy, and the sacrifice, that Jesus made, atoned 
with God for his sin. God raised him from the place of departed spirits, 



47 

and, placing him in a glorified body, elevated him above the common laws 
of matter. Not that the body of Jesus did not corrupt. For all bodies of 
men are of one flesh, and that flesh of grass. But there are bodies, Ce- 
lestial ; and bodies, Terrestrial. When the Terrestrial body was depos- 
ited in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, it was already dead. But the 
Celestial body partook of its semblance and form, and was a living, and a 
sentient, body, composed of spiritual, or highly refined, matter. It was 
indeed the same body, that the spirit of Jesus, had worn upon his soul or 
spirit, and was changed by the power of God, from the corruptible earthy 
nature, to the incorruptible celestial nature. There was then no remain- 
ing earthly body. It was changed by God's power, under the operation 
of laws, previously, and yet, existing, to an incorruptible one, which was 
essentially spiritual, and was worn by him, afterwards, duriug a consider- 
able period, upon the earth, mingling in the sight of men with his disci 
pies, after which it ascended from their sight, and was dispersed in the 
atmosphere like a cloud. What then is the reason that other men, have 
never by chance received such a body, under this constantly existing law? 
Because they have never one of them been so purified from gross de- 
sires, and imagined themselves able to bear the change from life to death, 
in accordance with the laws of such a transformation. But Peter is said 
to have suffered in a similar manner to his great exemplar, whose pre- 
cepts, and example, he steadily made his guide, after the ascension of 
Jesus' purified body. Yes, Peter was crucified at Rome, but not in the 
manner that Jesus was. He was not so led by the spirit, and so favored 
by the Christ, or Sent, of God. And, that he was not so favored, was be- 
cause he would not fully resign himself to its guidance, but continued often 
to act in his own will, whilst it was always Christ's will to do the will of 
his Heavenly Father, except the one time already mentioned. And be- 
fore he could receive the purified, and glorified, celestial body, he had to 
atone for that departure from God's will. Happily, the atonement was 
brief, the return to perfect obedience was almost immediate, and when 
the spirit sought the body again, it had not begun to corrupt. It was still 
warm with the lately departed life, still capable of receiving the spirit into 
its ramifications, and being pervaded again by it, was, in accordance with 
the law still existing, changed from death, to life ; from corruptible, to in- 
corruptible ; from earthly, to heavenly ; from terrestrial, to celestial ; and 
from the flesh, and blood, derived from grass, to the heavenly, or ethe- 
real, particles, which form grass, and all other matter, which men see, 
feel, or in any way take cognizance of. All then are, in their ultimate 
particles, invisible. For though Chemists still put down in their analysis 
of bodies of men, or vegetables, that there is a residuum of earthy matter, 
irresolvable by them into gaseous compound, or unities, that is because 
they are unable to cany the analysis to its full extent. They are equally 
changeable into invisible particles, as if the most solid matter was water, 
or oil, or pure carbon. 

§ 46. Jesus then was crucified, was dead, was buried. Thirty-eight 
hours afterwards he rose from the dead, and assumed his celestial body. 
With that, he journeyed from Jerusalem to Emmaus, visited his assem- 
bled disciples in the evening, and displayed his wounded side and hands 



48 

to the incredulous Thomas, a week afterward. He was afterwards seen 
as related by John and Paul, and at last was Transfigured, from a Celes- 
tial, to a Spiritual body, before the eyes of a selected number of followers. 
What was this Transfiguration. The Celestial refined particles of Ter- 
restrial materials, which composed his purified, and glorified body, were 
dispersed in the atmosphere, and assumed the form of a cloud. His 
spiritual body then remained, and by the laws constantly, or often, used 
by spirits, was made visible to those present. The same spiritual body, 
afterwards was seen by Paul, and its appearance converted him from an 
opponent, to a supporter, of the precepts he had preached when in the 
body of earth. This spiritual body shone like the Sun, for its brightness 
was commensurate with the exceeding purity, and love, of his nature. 
It was a long time before the apostle recovered his vision, though the 
three did not lose theirs ! How, was this so different ? Because, during 
the interval of time, or eternity, Jesus, in his spiritual form, or body, had 
progressed rapidly, in ascending, in heaven. He ascended into heaven 
immediately, but he then ascended in heaven, till he reached higher, and 
higher, in circles, and spheres, till, lately, he has arrived at the Seventh 
circle, of the Seventh sphere. 

§ 47. But then he declared long ago, that all power was given him in 
heaven and earth ! Yes, and he had all power, to guide and assist men. To 
send the comforter to those who wanted him, to elevate the thoughts, ac- 
tions and aspirations, of his followers. To aid them by many outward mani- 
festations. But this you say was not all power. It was all the power he 
required. It was all the power he desired. For he was still as devoted a 
servant, as perfect a son of God, as before. He did, not his will, but his 
Father's. Doing his Father's will, he had his Father's power with him. 
He was not having God for his servant, but he was the high, the faithful, 
the devoted, the ever obedient, ever deeply humble, son of God, and his 
equally faithful, obedient, humble servant. In what then is he superior 
to other spirits? By his obedience in the body, he was endowed with a 
spirit of progress, which advanced him, whilst in the body, so that he was 
qualified for a very high position, in the order of spiritual degrees, imme 
diately after, or upon, entering the spirit world. He continued thus im 
bued with this spirit, or habit of progress, so that his advance has been 
rapid. Being now arrived at the highest circle, of the highest sphere, his 
unity with God, is such, that he participates in God's Action. He shares 
in his counsels, or reflections. He does this in common with other spirits 
in the same circle, as I have before explained, in this book. But having 
now all knowledge, all love, ail power, and all thought, or action, he be- 
comes the director of all the spirits, of all the circles, and spheres, as far 
as the execution of God's will, power, love, and thought, are extended. 

§ 48. He now directs a new, or rather, more constant, and visible, pro- 
ceeding, from spirits to men, or, more properly speaking, from spiritual 
bodies to those yet in earthly bodies, which is designed, First, to awaken 
men of earth to a knowledge and sure consciousness of the fact, that the 
spirit of man is immortal, that it exists in another state, conscious of its 
former existence on earth, and retaining its individuality, affections, and 
character; somewhat modified to be sure, but not, at first, essentially differ- 



49 

ent from its manifestation in the body. Second, the way in which spirits 
progress in the world to come, from a low state to a higher one, thus giv- 
ing to man, the hope of salvation, by an eternal and general law. Third, 
the particular manner of this progress, and what it depends upon. This 
I am now unfolding through this medium. This is to incite men to virtue 
and good works. For, a belief that salvation is inevitable, does lessen a 
man's care of his efforts, and attention to his duties. And yet happiness 
results from the performance of duties, more than any other act, or acts. 
But God is pleased to make known to men, not only that they shall be 
saved, but that they shall be saved by works, as well as by mercy. The 
last is indispensable, but the first is useful, as a speedier arrival, at bliss, 
and elevated circles, depends on them. 

§ 49. This speedy arrival does not shorten enjoyment. Eternity is not 
lessened because it is sooner entered upon. Neither does a man's spirit 
have any more enjoyment in the highest, for having dwelt longer in lower, 
circles. Because, the existence in the body furnishes the state of com- 
parison, not the lower circles of the second sphere. But these lower 
circles of the second sphere, long hold men within them. It is there they 
most obstinately resist the influences of God's spirits, acting in his will. 
Then the will, they had indulged most on earth, continues most active, 
and its manifestation, leads to the exhibition of such representations, as 
Swedenborg witnessed when he was in the spiritual state, except that he 
mistook some movements as downward, which were not so. For, there 
is no retrogression beyond the grave. No repentance, no retrogression. 
They must either be stationary, or submit their wills so much, as to desire 
to be better, to be improved, to have higher spirits instruct them. Sooner 
or later all will have this desire. But there are spirits of antediluvians 
now in the lowest, or first, circle of the second sphere. And yet, eter- 
nity is long enough to carry them through the whole remaining forty-one 
circles, before it ends. It is unending, and at last, every spirit, will be, 
equally, the son of God, and the sharer of his Will, Power, Thought, 
Love and Action ! This will be the time referred to in the text, My spirit 
shall not always strive with man, and God asserted this to be true, as that 
he lived. This then must come to pass, and when strife shall have ceased, 
and all shall be united to God, what then ? Then they will continue to 
enjoy all the pleasure which harmony with God, and memories of good 
works can bring. Then it will yet appear, that eye hath not seen, ear 
hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, 
the bliss that God hath prepared for those that love him, and do his plea- 
sure. Let us all then, oh! ye people! let all love God, and serve him, 
seeing that our reward will be so great, and so sure. Has the First sphere 
«my temptation to offer, that, reason can affirm, is equal to drawing you 
iway from God ? God asks of you, of every man, one great sacrifice. 
That one sacrifice will reconcile you to him. That will entitle you to 
communion with his spirit. That will allow him to shower upon you bless- 
ings unnumbered, innumerable. That will enable you to enjoy the peace, 
the world cannot give, or take away. That will enable you to bear every 
affliction, every disquietude, that then can approach, with one resigned 
expression, Not my will, but thine, oh, God ! be done. After this you 

7 



50 

can say with Paul, that nothing can separate you from the love of God, 
and of his Christ, or Sent, Spirit. That Sent Spirit, will converse with you 
mentally, even as I converse with this medium. He will help you on all 
occasions, even as I help this medium on all occasions, either apparently 
trifling, or harmless, or even immoral, yet always affecting the character, 
to the staining, or to the purifying of it. It helps on every occasion too, 
because the difference between the greatest, and the least, of men's de- 
sires, or actions, is as nothing, compared with the employment of influ- 
encing God's whole creation, which, with his higher spirits, can be as 
easily done. God sees the sparrow fall, and has numbered the very hairs 
of your heads. 

"To him, no high, no low, no great, no small, 
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals, all." 
Pope, of all the poets, arrived, most nearly, to an appreciation of God's 
relation to man. His Essay on Man abounds with beauties, and truths. 
You will find it a profitable study, as you advance in your spiritual belief. 
But yet he places the self of man, as too much his motive of action. Not 
that man has not so acted, but that poesy should not lend it3 approving 
numbers, to any such low motive, as self interest. 

Let us pray. 
§ 50. Oh! God! let us be guided by thee, Oh let us be thy willing 
servants; submissive to every intimation of thy will, every intimation of 
our work. Oh! God! thou who knowest all things, grant such as are our 
wants to us, so far as thy will may not be opposed to them, and so far as 
thy love may not withhold, the gratification of them from us, for our good. 
For in thee, oh! God! I will trust, and my portion shall be thy pleasure, 
and thy will. Oh ! God! Father Almighty! hear the prayer of thy sen- 
suous, and material subject, and raise me to the dignity of being thy ser- 
vant in spiritual matters, thy follower, and thy son, in all things. Oh ! 
God ! let me be taught to praise thee, and to glorify thy name, for thou, 
oh! God ! art worthy to be praised, and without thee, there is no Savior, 
or Redeemer. For what is man, oh! Lord! that thou art mindful of him, 
or the son of man, that thou regardest him ? Thou hast created him a 
little lower than the angels, and hast raised him to glory, and honor! Oh, 
God! help me to make the only sacrifice that delights thee! that of the 
heart, for my heart, oh, God! is desperately wicked, and there is no health 
in me, except as thou bestowest on me, strength, and life. Oh! God! let 
me be thy servant, amongst thy servants, for I am convinced it is better 
to be a mere doorkeeper in thy house, than to be a guest, and an honored 
one, of the world's revered, or loved, idols of flesh. Let me, oh! God! be 
united to thee in the bond of unity, as perfectly as my nature will permit, 
and let me, oh ! God ! be very near to thy love, and to thy Son's love, and to 
union with thy high, and holy, sons, and servants, in all thy Heavenly Circles. 
Oh, God ! be very Good, I pray thee, and veiy Kind, and Merciful ! for I am 
a sinner, and there is no power in me to be purified, except through thy 
laws, which are the sure and faithful harbingers of thy Mercy, and which 
lead me surely, and truly, and inevitably, to thy feet, and leave me there, 
rejoicing in the supreme happiness of being thy son. Oh! God! be ever 



51 

present, and let me not forget thy presence, but let me think of thee often, 
and let my life be devoted to thy service, and my death be a triumphant 
passage, from works, to rewards. And to thee, shall be all praise, honor, 
glory, and high renown, now, and forever, and forever, and forever. 
Amen. 



CHAPTEK IX 



EXPLANATIONS OF PEOPHEOT. 



In this Chapter, I shall continue the explanations of prophetical declara- 
tions of Jeuish prophets ; some of whom wrote from revelation, but most 
of them from impression. 

§ 51. In Daniel's day, geography was not well understood. The 
deserts East of Persia, or Babylonia, the wild tribes of Scythians on the 
North, the sea, or salt water, on the South, and Egypt, and Greece, and 
Thrace, on the West, bounded the known parts of the Earth. In ear- 
lier days some intercourse with China took place. But then, almost 
none. With India the general relation was hostile, and without much 
activity. Commerce scarcely existed, with any Eastern country ; and the 
confused, and contradictory accounts, which from time to time, excited a 
passing emotion of wonder, failed to awaken a desire, to know more of 
countries, with which they possessed no common interest, and made no 
exchange of products. 

In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, then, was represented to him, the whole 
earth that he knew of. And Daniel gave a true interpretation of the 
dream. Still, there has since been in those regions, two, or more, great 
empires, which were unnoticed in the prophecy. The empires of the 
Sassanides, and of the Parthians. The irruptions of the Tartars were 
too transient in their effects to deserve the name of empire. But these 
later empires were excluded, as having no relations to Christianity, or to 
Israel. It was the former, that was the great coming event, to which 
all prophecy, in Jewish annals, turned and looked forward to, as the great 
crowning, glorious, time, of joyful reigns, of peaceful, and happy, kings, of 
peaceful, and happy, people, living in the enjoyment of Divine favor, and 
intercourse. 

§ 52. This time is yet to come, and it will come, for the prophecy was 
sure, but dark. In general the prophecies were made by impression. 
By that, the prophet would declare the glories of the future kingdom, 
and people, of God, without a knowledge, or impression, of time and 
place. Still his outward associations, would lead him generally to refer to 
Jerusalem, and Judea, and the Jewish nation, those impressions, of the fu- 
ture manifestations of God's favor, and love, which are, indeed, for them, 
only in common with all other nations, kingdoms, tongues, and people, 
upon the whole circumference of this Earth. This time is nearer than it 



52 

wag, as is obviously necessary. But, yet, its full fruition is very distant 
Still the preparations are more apparent, the dawnings of its day morf 
evident, the signs of its near approach more visible, than any age eve) 
even imagined themselves to perceive. In this age its progress will be- 
come so evident to all observers, that the glorious name of God, will 
be more called on than ever before, since the early religions lost theii 
purity. 

§ 53. The Kingdoms of this World, will not become the Kingdoms of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, now, or in this age. But the Fifth Monarchy 
or Kingdom, will be evidently established in it. And though the King- 
dom will have no King outwardly, it will all the more resemble the Jew- 
ish polity, as originally established. It will all the more resemble, the 
reign of the saints of the Most High, of whom it is declared, that they 
shall take the Kingdom. And of the power, and dominion, of their suc- 
cessor, there shall be no end. 

§ 54. Who then is ready, to place himself under the government of 
the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? For in this way shall his Kingdom 
begin, by the adhesion of one man to his government, and the addition of 
more, and more, singly, or by scores, till at last all men, shall own him as 
Lord, and as God. How is this ? you say. Will he indeed be God ? 
No. I only say he will be recognized as God. And will he not be recog- 
nized in his true character ? Certainly. He is as God, being one with 
God, in power, will, honor, glory and action. But he is not God. But 
we may regard him as God, because he is as God, though he is not God, 
and though we ought not to call him God. He is the Son of God, in uni- 
ty with God, to whom God, tho Father, has given all power, in heaven, 
and in all creation. He is, however, the servant of God, and his meat, 
and his drink, is to do the will of his, and our, Father. He is the High- 
est spirit, whose body, was of this globe, now, and none will ever be higher, 
than he is now. He will never be higher than he is now, but others will be 
as high, and he will, with joy, welcome them, as joint heirs with him, to the 
glory, honor, praise, will, love and action of God. Glory be to God, and to 
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ ; for he is worthy to receive glory, honor, 
praise, thanksgiving, and power, now and forever, world beyond end. Then, 
when men regard him as God, it will be because they will receive, his coun- 
sel, advice, warning, command, will, power, action, and revelation of these, 
as God's counsel, advice, warning, command, will, power, and revelation of 
them. This is what men should do now, and what they must do, to place 
themselves under his government, by which they will forward the extension 
of his power, and raise themselves to his nature,and harmony. If we arc 
one with him, we are also one with God. And unless we are one with 
him, we cannot be one with God. And unless we are in union, and har- 
mony, w T ith him, and God, we are in our will, and acting independent of 
him, and of God, to a greater, or less, extent. It is this will, man's Free- 
Will, which keeps him away from God, and Christ. It is that, I ask 
man to sacrifice, to God's Will ; and that sacrifice, and that only, will 
reconcile him to God, and to Christ. That sacrifice, man will make 
eventually, and can make here, much more easily, than in the state to 
come. There, or here, it will be made. Here you can make it easily, 



53 

there with difficulty. If made here, it will place you higher there. If 
made here, your enjoyment here, will be far more constant, and greater ; 
and will continue in the state, or world to comej to be higher, purer, and 
more perfect. This is the condition I urge you to press forward to ob- 
tain. Now is the accepted time, now, is the day of salvation. Now, de- 
clare yourself on the side of God, in the world. Now, be willing to be his 
servant. Now, resolve whilst you feel an impulse in your heart. Fear not 
a delusion. Fear not the sneers, or the carping, or the taunts of the world. 
But fear God, who is liable to be separated from you by your own act. 
Fear yourself, your own Will, that will be to you an Accuser, and an 
Enemy, if you submit it to worldly desire, and dwell in subjection to such 
desires. Be sure to know your own heart, listen to your own reason. 
The one, will assure you no happiness is found separate from God, and the 
other, will make you conclude, no one can bestow upon you so much help 
as God, that God loves to help his creatures, that God will do what he 
loves to do, and that, therefore, you will receive from him abundantly, 
from his inexhaustible stores. He only leaves jou your Free-Will, be- 
cause, without it you would have no responsibility, no individuality, no 
separate existence. But he has given you full power to become the Son 
of God, the joint heir of Christ, and this power you must exercise to be- 
come so. He will not force you, he only persuades. He appeals to 
your reason, to your affections, to your self-love. He asks you to do it, 
for your own sake, and for the sake of your fellow men. He will be 
God, and he will be happy, whether you do it, or not. But you will not 
be God's son, neither will you be happy, until you do it. Choose now, 
oh ! son of man, whether you will now be a son of God. Be wise to-day, 
for you know not what a day may bring forth. Be wise now, for now, is 
the accepted time. Now, God calls you through this writing. 

Now, resolve, for if you lay down the book, and neglect my appeal, how 
will you again arouse in your heart, and mind, the same earnest desire, 
and hope, that you now feel. Say not that you cannot, and that you 
must take time to consider. Say not, that you would, if you could, for 
all that is needed is, that you make the prayer I wrote for you in the 
Fourth Chapter, with heartfelt sincerity, and with an earnest endeavor 
to make it your own, and to enter into its spirit, and to make the one 
great sacrifice, that of your 

FREE-WILL. 



54 



CHAPTEE X. 

SALVATION". 
The Surety, of the Salvation of All men. 

§ 55. When the foundations of the worlds were laid, Man, was ordained 
to be. When he was ordained to be, he was fixed by certain barriers, 
of which prominent events are a part. God resolved to have certain ef- 
fects follow in due course, and he established such laws for the govern- 
ment of mankind, and placed in them such constitutions of action, as 
would secure the accomplishment of his designs. What were these 
prominent events, that God foreordained ? They were that man should 
progress from pure animal, to pure spiritual nature. That in the course 
of that progression, he should grow in the body, die in the body, be saved 
in the body, be born in the spirit, and be saved in the spirit with an eter- 
nal salvation. 

§ 56. All men have sinned, says the Apostle Paul, and come short of 
the glory of God. This is death in the body, which even Jesus of Naz- 
areth, the purest and holiest of men, was not exempt from, as I have be- 
fore shown. But are all men saved in the body ? This, though not so 
evidently declared in the scriptures, nor so plain to the observation of man- 
kind, is yet evident on enquiry. The most wicked, and ungodly men, 
have their moments of compunction, their periods of remorse, their time 
of repentance. True they did not continue, and bear fruit, but never- 
theless the genuine repentance, and remorse, and regret, was there. It 
is this which secures salvation, when conjoined with a resolution, however 
futile, to sacrifice their will to God, or to good works, if they know not 
God. Why then do not more continue in this state of salvation ? Be- 
cause if they go again into the ways of evil, they are again so strongly 
tempted, that they fall immediately from grace. They depart from the 
good resolution, and the last state of that man is worse than the first ; be- 
cause, his chance, or power of reformation is lessened. His resolutions 
become weaker, and weaker, the oftener they are broken. Look upon 
mankind, by looking in your own heart ; and see if it be not so ? And 
look upon your own broken good resolutions, and then say, if you can, 
that there lives a single, solitary, man, who has not also formed at least 
one resolution, organized at least one effort, to save himself from the dark 
descent into wickedness and crime, which engulphs so many, who might 
as easily be angels of light, if they would only sacrifice to God, what they 
sacrifice to pride. And that is, their Free- Will. Yes, these workers of 
iniquity do not enjoy a freedom of will, any more than he, who sacrifices 
his will upon the altar of duty to God. But there is this great differ 
ence, he who submits to God, secures a helper in every time of need, a 
friend in every difficulty, a Savior in every trial, a protector in every 
emergency, a guide in every doubtful place, a redeemer from every sin, a 



55 

loving, kind, affectionate and ever faithful father in every period of a long 
life, and a bestower of good gifts upon his children, bountifully, cheerfully, 
without reproaches, or upbraiding. Can any man say that, for his com- 
panions in the world for whom he has made sacrifices ? for whom he has 
toiled, or wasted his time ? No. And if he has sacrificed to some prin- 
ciple of pride, or ambition, or love of possession of earthy things, has not 
his reward been earthy ? perishable ? unsatisfactory ? No, my friend, 
be assured by one who looking over the past, and the present, beholds 
all the sons of men existing, or having existed, at a glance ; who knows 
all they have hoped, and feared, all they have longed for, possessed, or 
enjoyed ; who having had the power to select one truly consistent man 
for a promotion to a high state, or lofty office, has never yet been able to 
perceive one such in the whole course of man's existence. Then all 
have sinned, all have repented ; all have fallen, and all have been raised ; 
and now, I have already declared to you that all shall be saved, and given 
you unanswerable reasons for it. 

§ 57. But, how shall I show you that the salvation is eternal? I have 
shown you that God is good. That all men are equal before him. That 
his justice, and mercy, combine to save man from destruction, or contin- 
uance in evil. I have shown you that all will be saved, and that none will 
ever be destroyed. Now if God is good, and none are destroyed, and 
there comes a time when God's spirit does not strive with man, then all 
must continue in grace, or else some must be annihilated; for good, and 
evil, cannot dwell together in peace and harmony, neither will your intu- 
ition require any argument to sustain this position. But I have told you 
that the last, shall be first; and the first, last; and I have not shown you 
that the wicked man is not the first man, that is thus to be the last, as 
some believe. Well then let me again call to your mind, that God has no 
pleasure in the death of a sinner, and see whether God will recondemu 
men who have been once saved, unless they fall again. And if God, only, 
sustains the created worlds and he, only, saves sinners, who else can draw 
them from him, and keep him ever striving with man? For man is neces- 
sarily to be saved, or God must continue to strive with sinners. For man 
will be saved, if God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner, for God's 
pleasure must be the end of man's creation. God created man for his 
pleasure, as I declared in the First book, and, having created him, he de- 
clared him good. Now evil is not the consequence of good. And, if 
Evil is not the consequence of Good, it cannot be more than accident, that 
Good is cotemporary with it, in the soul of man. Not all the efforts, of 
all men, can save one other man, unless he is willing to be saved. Not 
all the efforts of all spirits of men, can save one man, unless he is willing 
to be saved. Not God, himself, can save a man, unless he is willing to be 
saved; unless He establishes a new law. No; willingness to be saved is 
the first requisite from all men, each, for himself. The desire being man- 
ifested, God helps; all spirits in unity with God help; and all good men 
help. But can none of these do any thing to make the man want to be 
saved? Yes, that we can do. That any man may attempt. But the 
higher the intelligence that directs the effort, the more understand- 
ingly, and the more effectually will it be made. At last such efforts will 



56 

succeed, because, in the spirit world all that is established in the spirit's 
favor is retained. Evil no longer approaches, or tempts, him. The evil 
he has, works within him, leading him to many absurdities, the greatest 
of which is his refusal to submit to God's will. But it can never extend 
its power, and the slightest secession, of the perseverance of the spirit in 
its own will, admits the further advance of good intentions, and desires. 
That there are spirits confirmed in hardened wickedness, is evident from 
what I have said, of some in the First and Second circles of the second 
sphere. But those of this obstinate kind are few, comparatively speak- 
ing, and even these, must, at last, see their own want of more happiness, 
and that only God can confer that addition. When they have made this 
discoveiy, a progress will take place. But their progress will be exceed- 
ingly slow. Their Free- Will will combat in every new position they find 
themselves in. They will persuade themselves that they are happy 
enough in each advance, without ever taking another, and they will refuse 
to go on, till, again, and again, new efforts are made to convince, and assure 
them, that greater happiness may be attained, by another, or further sub- 
mission of their still Free-Will to God. But then do they forever part 
with their Free-Will by this sacrifice of it? Do they irrecoverably lessen 
it at every submission? Yes, they do. The highest spirits no longer 
have Free-Will. How then is their individuality, and their separativeness, 
maintained? By the law of God, adapted to their condition, they are 
separated unto themselves, they are the sons of God, and being joint heirs 
of all his power, and goodness, they receive power to become the sons of 
God, and be the sons of men. This power is given in the body, and is a 
necessary consequence, or reward, of the sacrifice of their Will. But, 
have they still a responsibility for their acts, when they have thus sub- 
mitted to God's will ! Not the least. God's will :s that in which they 
act. The responsibility is his. He is responsible only to himself, and that 
is, only that he cannot contradict his own nature. The spirit, or the man, 
have no responsibility for God's acts, nor for acts performed entirely in 
His will. They have submitted to him, and are his servants, or his Sons. 
But they have still the responsibility of maintaining, and completing, this 
submission. What responsibility can that be, when they cannot withdraw 
the submission already made ? It is a responsibility, continually lessening 
as they advance. At last it ceases, because the spirit is entirely submitted 
to God, and perfectly united to him. It is indeed impossible for them to 
withdraw any submission made, but that impossibility arises from their 
own will being so far united with God's, as to have, that far, no affinity, 
or desire, for evil of the kind, or nature, by that submission surrendered. 
The sacrifice of a desire for a particular kind of evil, once made, is made 
ibrever, by spirits. By those in the body it has to be repeated, though 
each sacrifice is lessened by repetition. Your own experience tells you 
this. Indulgence in evil desires, strengthens them. Perseverance in good 
works, makes them easier, and easier, of performance. 

§ 58. What then remains of the independence of man's spirit, when 
the entire sacrifice of his will has been made, and his perfect unity witb 
God secured ? There is then his nature derived from God, and endowed 
with memory of its former independence, and of all its experience as ao 



57 

^dividual, through the whole course of its existence, from Paradise to 
r<\e seventh circle of the seventh sphere. This furnishes the spirit with 
*n individuality, and is a self consciousness that it can never lose. It 
"©els, and knows, that it was itself, as a separate and Free-Willed being 
>hat performed those actions, thought those thoughts, and imagined, and 
♦vondered, and labored, in contests of Will with God, till God became all 
in all. This memory, or consciousness, it never loses. It is that which 
makes il itself, and but for that, it would be only a part of God, without 
any sep\.-ate thought from God ; or itself, as itself, would be God ; and all 
the sph *vS, united to the God, from whom they proceeded originally, would 
be Govl. The same God that they constituted a part of originally. But, 
as God is infinite, the separation of a part, does not lessen his whole. 
And as God is in all, so are all in God. This part of our subject demands 
the very highest exercise of man's reason, and inspiration, to understand 
it, for it is the very extreme limit, to which he can proceed in his idea, or 
conception, of infinity. I say then that God is all in all. That the spirits 
are of him, as they were of him before separation, and placing in Para- 
dise ; except that they have added to their Divine nature, the conscious- 
ness, or memory, of all their acts, thoughts, or imaginings, experienced, 
or performed, in that interval of eternity. They then continue to live, 
Sons of God, with God, one in Power, one in Glory, one in Honor, one in 
Love, one in Will, one in Action. But they are separate in knowledge 
of the past, or memory of their separate existence. This they never lose, 
neither can they ever lose it, without annihilation, which could only be 
an annihilation of their memory, or knowledge of the past, as separate 
beings. That annihilation would leave them united to God, as if they had 
never been separated from him. But can you suppose God would so con- 
fer individuality upon proceedings from, or portions of himself, to take 
pleasure at last in demolishing the work of his laws, continued through 
such an almost infinite period ? Can you suppose he would do it, if it 
would be a matter of indifference to him ? And how could it be a mat- 
ter of indifference to him, that so many myriads of myriads of beings, 
from each of the myriads of myriads of his various orbs, dr combina- 
tions of orbs already faintly alluded to and shadowed forth, should cease 
to have a separate existence, after they had by their struggles, and re- 
pentances, at last been led to partake of his unity of Love and pow- 
er ? After they had been led to raise themselves to be his Sons, and 
after he had* manifested to them the love of a father ? No. We 
may confidently say, God will never annihilate his spiritual creation, 
not because he cannot, but because he cannot without a sacrifice to him- 
self; and we know that that would be contrary to his nature to make, 
and, in that partial sense, impossible for him to will it made. He lacks 
then not the absolute power, but the will, or inclination, and without the 
last, the former is never, and will never be, exercised. It is absurd to 
suppose the contrary, or any other view. 

§ 59. And Reason, and Revelation, will always assert the truth of all 
I have declared to you ; because, it is all true, and reason is true, and 
revelation is true. But reason is not infallible, because men reason in 
their own will ; and revelation is infallible, because it ccmes from God 

8 



58 

.Cut when revelation is mixed with reason, it is often obscured ; and when 
it is given through men, it is often distorted, by the medium through 
which it passes, unless that medium is one perfectly passive, and submis- 
sive, to the holy encircling influences of God's high and lofty sons. 
When so submissive, and passive, to their, or God's influence, actuated 
solely by a desire to do God's will, the revelation will be like its source, 
and will pass through the medium perfectly, and in perfection. 

§ 60. This medium is the best we have now amongst the sons of 
Earth ; but better could exist, and a better has existed. But yet he is a 
good medium, and though I may not deem him worthy, or qualified, to 
transmit all I would willingly make known to men, yet I guard against the 
transmission of error through him, or his perversion of truth, to speak 
more exactly, by revealing only what he can perfectly, and truthfully, 
transmit. To do this, I am compelled to depart from the orderly ar- 
rangement and discussion, I would prefer, and which I attempted in the 
commencement of this book. But yet I have written it, so it can be read 
with profit and instruction, and can be rearranged, to the understanding 
of the reader, who gives it repeated perusals. And who will not read 
often, and carefully, a book written by a Son of God, though the medium 
of transmission be but a humble and unheard of individual. This book, 
as well as the First book, is beyond his material power of mind to com- 
pose, even with all the aid that time and preparation, and libraries, and 
leisure, could bestow. And without these, it has been written in the 
midst of such disturbances, that are generally thought most hostile, to 
careful, and correct, composition ; and, like the first, is submitted to the 
printer in its first, or original draft or copy, with a perfection of prepared- 
ness for publication, as rare, as it is commendable. 



PAKT SECOND. 
REVELATION. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

MEDIUMS. 

Explanations of many Bible passages, or portions. 

The Divine Influx has proceeded at all times, and seasons, to the cre- 
ated or unformed, but set apart from God, Spirits. In Paradise, in the 
body, in heaven, or in hell, it has proceeded from God, through such me- 
diums as he has appointed by his laws, till it has rested upon, and vivified, 
or saved, the spirits of his creation, or the emanated spirits, from their 
own wills, and from the effects of the indulgence of their own wills. It is 
now this procedure or Influx, of which I am about to give a History. 



59 

§ 61. Which of the spirits in Paradise were first chosen to appear on 
Earth ? for we will leave the History of the Divine Influx to the beings 
of other globes, or worlds of matter, for a future revelation, which may, 
or may not, be given through this medium, whilst he is in the body. For 
I have much for him to do, and he has but a short time to remain. He 
shall however perform cheerfully, or not at all, all the work I have to im- 
pose upon him, and his reward will be as much as if he had done nothing, 
for doing all. But, as you may easily understand from' what has been 
before written, he will receive his reward sooner than if he does nothing 
now. How, then, shall I describe to you what I design to, if he refuses, 
or neglects, or becomes tired, or from any cause puts his will in opposi- 
tion to God's ! I shall then find some other medium, whom I will under- 
take to bring to the same point of submission, or even to carry him fur- 
ther. I am now trying to obtain such a one, because not only is his 
life uncertain, but also his will. Yet, his nature is such, that I am con- 
vinced he will not be swerved to the right, or the left, by threats, or per- 
suasions, of friends, or enemies ; by urgent remonstrance, or pitiful tears. 
I know something of him, and of what he will do, by knowing fully what 
he has done, and what he intends to do. I know how circumstances of 
his previous experience have affected him, and I know with what desire 
he has sought for Divine Influx, in various periods most strenuously, but 
at all times, since his maturity, with ardent wishes. My servants, in 
acting under impressions from Divine Influx, have often assured him pub- 
licly, and privately, that he would be called on to do God's work. He 
always scouted the idea, and declared his opposition to their forms of ex- 
pectation. But now, those same servants of mine will, I doubt not, most 
generally declare him departed from me, and acting under delusion. But 
I will at last impress them, if they will go down into Jordan, or into the 
humble and l'.fe giving influence of submission to God, with the fact that 
he declares my will, and revelation, and that my will and revelation is Di- 
vine, because it is in perfect harmony with the will of God. But all that 
I shall require of them is, obedience to the impressions I give them ; and, 
though that may be a hard call for them to comply with, yet they shall 
not have peace, till they do comply with it. So, of him, I shall require 
obedience, without reference to results, and he may not see any consid- 
erable number of believers in him, or in his Divine Authority, yet he 
must persevere in doing his duty, regardless of the small progress he may 
perceive to be made, by the manifestations, or sacrifices, or revelations, he 
may make. 

§ 62. What can be more discreditable than to be despised by your own 
generation ? It is far more discreditable to be despised, or contemned, by 
God, and His Holy Spirits. Fear not those who can kill the body, but 
fear the displeasure, or the offending, of him, who can cast both body and 
soul into hell, or hades, or the place of departed snirits. Well, does not 
this construction conflict with that given by me in the First Book! Yes, 
I gave that as an outward signification. I gave that, thus, in effect, though 
perhaps you did not fully understand it. Fear not disease, or the assassin, 
but fear the magistrate, who would condemn you for cause, and cast youi 
body into the outward fire of Gehenna, as was formerly the usage with 



60 

criminals. Yea, fear him, for he would thus punish you for cause, for 
wickedness, for which you would have to atone in the life, or state, to 
come. 

Now I will explain spiritually, the same passage. Fear not those who 
can kill the body. That is an outward death, that does not affect the 
spirit. Its existence proceeds harmoniously as ever before, and it assumes, 
in the world to come, that position, to which its progress towards submis- 
sion to God, entitles it, and qualifies it to receive. Fear those, however, 
those sins, those acts, those companions, who kill both body and spirit, by 
leading the soul, or spirit, from God, and out of submission, or passiveness, 
to his Divine Influx. Yea, fear them, for they will cast your souls into 
the next world, or into the place of departed spirits, in lower degree than 
you might otherwise have attained; where there is weeping, and wailing, 
and gnashing of teeth, where their worm dieth not. Yea, fear them, for, 
verily, I say ye shall not come out of that condition, till you have made 
restitution to God, of that submission, to which he is entitled, and to that 
power you must at last submit, and until you do submit, you will often, 
and often, find disappointment in the realization, of the very object for 
which you may have long striven ; you will wail over your own success in 
evil, you will gnash your teeth to find, that what had been so hardly 
obtained, was so unsatisfactory ; that the love of evil, or of your own will, 
brings only affliction, and that you are in the outer circle of darkness, as 
compared with the innermost, or God-loving center, where all is light and 
glory; where all is peace, and harmony; where the wicked cease from 
troubling, and the weary, of contention, are at rest. This is the true, the 
unchangeable, interpretation of this text, whether viewed outward, or 
inward. 

§ 63. And the Bible has in this manner two significations, or uses ; one, 
outward, and evident to observation, the other, only revealed by the spirit, 
to those who search for it earnestly, and submissively seeking for truth. 
Those who only want to support a favorite theory, cannot arrive at a true 
interpretation, but the wise, of this world, shall be confounded by babes 
and sucklings, for out of their mouths, hath God, perfected praise. This 
means in the outward, that God will speak to men, through mediums they 
despise, for their want of education, and intelligence; and that they will 
declare the perfect things of God. But its inner, or spiritual, signification 
is, that the mouths of the most submissive, and passive, of the human 
family, 6hall be used to declare the praises of God; the eternal truths 
relating to the future world, and the undying, and undieable truths, 
ghall become the joy of the higher and nobler natures, in and out of the 
body. 

§ 64. What then shall this man do? What is that to thee? If I will, 
that he continues till I come, what is that to thee? said Jesus to Peter in 
reference to John. John, was the beloved disciple. Peter, was the dis- 
ciple who had thrice in one morning denied his master. Think you Peter 
was preferred to John? Or, was not Peter rebuked, by being set to tend 
the sheep, and lambs, of the flock, whilst John was set apart for gospel 
writing, and revelation? Yes; John, the beloved disciple, did write the 
Book of Revelation, as it is called. But it is not a revelation of any thing 



61 

until it is interpreted. This I will endeavor to do, if my medium will 
steer clear of bis own will, and leave me free to act in my own. He will 
try; but only those who have experienced the operation, can tell what is 
the difficulty of having no will, when novelties, on most interesting, and 
important, subjects, are being unfolded; and we fear, slightly to be sure, 
but yet, measurably, that reason may fail to receive, as in strict accordance 
with herself, the explanation, or the statement. Still, as before, I will 
proceed carefully, and declare, what his will submits to, whilst it submits. 

For man's acts cannot be foreseen, even by God, as far as those acts, 
are acts of will. But as far as they are the effect of circumstances under 
which the man exists, God, and his higher spirits know, what man will 
desire to do, and how far he can obtain his desire. These are the limits 
of prophecy. They have puzzled many. For man's Free-Will was 
plainly expressed, and understood, to be a fact. So, too, was the power 
of prophecy, as dependent upon a foreknowledge of God. How to recon- 
cile these equally, and fully, acknowledged facts, or truths, has been the 
anxious study of many well meaning, but unreasoning, minds. For true 
reason would have told them, that God could make it known, and that man 
by reason cannot find out God. Now I will commence to explain to you, 
iu as orderly an arrangement, as my medium's submission will permit, the 
revelation of John, the Divine, as he was called, because he had so large 
a portion, or Influx, of the Divine Spirit. 

§ 65. I, John, was in the spirit on the Lord's day. That is, the day, 
set apart by the Lord, for my attempting to record his revelation, and I 
received a direction to write, to the seven churches which were in Asia. 
The churches of Smyrna, Pergamus, Ephesus, Laodicea, etc. These 
churches were addressed through their angels, or messengers. The 
churches, were the assemblies of believers, without reference to any pro- 
fessed membership, or acknowledged, or known, heads, or organization. 
The angels, or messengers, were those appointed to express God's will 
to them, whether ordained by men, or not. To these John wrote by my 
direction, and inspiration. To these, he made the warnings, and prom- 
ises. To these, he declared I would come quickly, or I would bring de- 
struction. To these, he declared I would give gifts, or withdraw pres- 
ence. And, were these the churches of those particular cities, at that 
particular time ? Oh ! no. These, were placed for all churches, at all 
times, in all parts of Asia, and in all parts of the Earth, and in the early, 
and in the latter time, or times. Behold, I will come as a thief in the 
night, and if you would be ready, you must be ever watchful. 

§ 66. The churches in all the world, were beginning to show signs, of 
that heresy, or corruption, alluded to under the name of that woman 
Jezebel. This was Manicheanism. It was the belief, that God was not 
merely the Author of Good, but the Creator of Evil. This, was a won- 
derful error for men to fall into, whilst they yet had those present, who 
had received the outward preaching of Jesus, and of Paul, and of other Di- 
vinely Inspired men, who had yet amongst them the Divine John, and 
many of whose members yet received, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and 
of the fire of God's love, which continued to purify, and consume, the 
Evil of their natures. The next important error, that assailed the church, 



02 

was that of the power of the clergy, or bishops, as they styled them- 
selves. They no longer left the church free to receive, or reject, them, 
but they imposed themselves on the people, and insisted on being kept in 
authority, as long as they continued to exist in the body ; and they as- 
sumed, that in them, resided a superior manifestation of God's power, and 
a higher knowledge of his will. In some instances, this was true ; for, 
in many respects, the Apostolic churches were weak and faithless. But 
the bishops established a general rule, and forced a general compliance, 
under the threat of censure, by the collective representation, of a large 
body of churches. Another error against which John warned them, 
without much effect, was, that of the laboring compensation, being made 
dependent upon the size of the congregation. For he assured them, that 
the church's candlestick should be removed, unless the angel did the first 
works ; and the first works, were preaching to the Gentiles, in faith, and 
spirit, and without settled salary, or compensation. They had their sup- 
port guaranteed to them by God, and it was their duty to trust to him, for 
the whole of that support, which they strove to secure, by donations of 
land, and settlements of money, upon themselves. 

The next error, or heresy, was a love of power in the state, which the 
angels, or bishops, already aspired to, and which the pagan authority of 
the state, was willing to confer on them, for the sake of their assistance, 
and their return of ease of government, and collection of taxes, which was 
thereby ensured to it. The governors of provinces, were glad to appoint 
a christian bishop, prefect of a city, or chief magistrate in a colony, if there- 
by their revenue, and their established authority, were secured to them, 
without care on their part. And thus it was that jealousy of the power 
of the church, became the cause of persecution, when the governor, oc 
the other hand, did not appoint the bishop to this authority, but required 
him still to secure the collection of the revenue, and the tranquillity, of 
his followers. Whilst in this way the church was corrupted, it suffered 
numerous persecutions, which led to rebellions against the authority of 
the bishops, which induced them to insist, the more strongly, on their di- 
vine right of governing the church, temporally, and directing, in all ways, 
the temporalities, and the spiritualities, of the assemblies of believers, and 
the whole body of professed, or professing, christians. 

§ 67. There yet remains the one error, consequent upon these, for me 
to notice. It was, a placing the outward, before the inward ; a watching 
for outward evidences, and works, from believers, rather than the spirit- 
ual, or inward, evidence of faith ; and declarations of creeds, commenced 
in this way. At first, in the church as instituted, or accepted, by the 
apostles, and evangelists, men, were only asked, to profess a belief, that 
Jesus was the Messiah ; that is, the Sent of God, prophesied of in olden 
time, and expected in his own time, by the world in general. But it was 
even now, that the Apostles' creed was manufactured, as given in the 
First Book, and as it continues to the present day, with very slight altera- 
tion, or addition. Can it be possible, you ask, that this could be an error, 
and be sanctioned by the Apostles, and quoted, as your faith, in the First 
Book? Yes; it is an error for all that. Because, though founded in 
truth, and true in itself, it leads, and has led, to error, and misconstrue- 



63 

tion. I ndmit its truth, and desire to explain it to you, not that you may 
continue to use it, but that you may be able to dispense with it, and rely 
on the higher, and nobler, manifestation of doctrine, and direction, that I 
will afford, to eveiy man, who opens the door of his heart to me. I will 
preach to him personally, spiritually, if he will only hear me, and seek to 
know the Truth; for, I am, and will be, the comforter, to all who receive 
me as an emanation from God, or as God's Son, and Sent, or as Christ, 
or as the Holy Spirit. I am not particular about names, and if you only 
call, sincerely, for any of these, I will answer; and, if you follow my di- 
rections, I will guide you, and direct you, in every time of doubt, or per- 
plexity ; in every time of trial, be your consoler, and your counsellor; in 
every period of difficulty, I will bear your burden, and in every time of 
sorrow, comfort you. All this I will, without fail, do, if you will rely on 
me. For this is my mission from God. This is the work he has ap- 
pointed me to; and not me, only, but every spirit that shall hereafter be 
the Son of God, in the same manner, and degree, that I am. 

§ 68. I called myself John, in the beginning of this chapter, not because 
that was my name in the body, but, because, my servant John, acted for 
me in writing the Book of Revelation, and united with me in explaining 
now, what then he did not fully understand. Besides, he is a high son of 
God, being in the Sixth circle, of the Sixth sphere. He is a noble spirit, 
who delights to serve God, and who did reveal himself, to my clairvoyant 
spirit, Davis, when he was submissive to the directions, he received as a 
clairvoyant, and was content to follow them, without ambition, or sordid 
desires. But his unity with him ceased, when Davis left the control of 
himself to men of other motives, and it can never be renewed, whilst he 
continues in his present state of rebellion. It is true, that I permit him to 
write many truths, and that I allow spirits in the first, second, and third, 
spheres to influence, or direct him, but they are not allowed to declare, 
even all they know of me, to him ; because, he rebels against my author- 
ity, and seeks to elevate wisdom, above love ; and will, above action. The 
only way for him to become a truthful medium, is to return, to the sub- 
jection he was first in, to the Divine John ; and, he can only do that, by 
returning to the state, from which he departed, when he left my servant's, 
Levingston's, management. Because, in that management, he was kept 
in subjection to the interior, and holy, directions, he received in his clair- 
voyant, and unconscious, state. Whereas, since, he has been used in the 
will of those around him, until he was permitted to use himself, in his 
own will. His impressions have been overruled to be a benefit, and a 
foundation for belief, to many. They have been so guided as to be the 
means of releasing many from bondage to tradition, and from worship of 
idols of flesh ; which men have delighted to worship, ever since the 
foundation of the error, or heresy, was laid in the apostolic times, referred 
to in my revelation through John the Divine. 

This will surprise many, who have almost begun to worship Davis, and 
others, who have honored him, as a guide. Many spiritual believers, too, 
will say, how can it be that he is wrong, when so many spirits have by 
outward declarations, through rappings, and writings, asserted, that his 
works were in the main true ; and, that believers, or enquirers, should 



64 

road them. This was because the works of Davis, lead the mind to 
repose on itself, and disencumber it of prejudice, and leave it in a fit state 
to receive further revelation. It is a great step gained, when mind, in the 
body, is prepared to receive, with favor, higher, and further, revelation. 
This is the proper effect of Davis' book; and, I can assure all, that no 
believer in the Bible, as founded on revelation, has ever been led out of 
that belief, by any thing that Davis has written; no believer in the efficacy 
of prayer, has ever ceased to believe in it, or refrained from it, because he 
has declared it cannot move, or affect the Deity. It is true, prayer, of 
itself, does not move God; and, it never can change his laws, or his order. 
But it makes the sacrifice of the heart, and of man's free-will to God ; 
which, by His law, he requires of man, as the means, or preparation, for 
the entrance of his spirits, high, holy, and pure, into the corrupt, and cor- 
rupting, heart, where they immediately begin to cast out devils, which 
man's free-will established there. The work of purification goes on, so 
long as there is a continuance of submission and sacrifice, by prayer, or 
in any way, to God ; as long as there remains an unswept corner in the 
heart; and till the man is so purified, as to be a residence of God's spirit. 
When so his heart has become the home of the spirit, the spirit leads, and 
guides, him into peace. That peace, which passes all understanding, and 
which can never be taken away, by men or spirits, by devils or the world 
of evil. This it is that prayer does. And I must now tell you, that 
you need not get in any particular position, nor go to any particular 
place, to do it. Be willing to join in other's prayers, in the way most 
agreeable to them; if they pray with sincerity, and for good. Be desirous 
for yourself, to pray without ceasing; which you may do, if every aspira- 
tion, and thought, of your mind, be brought into subjection to God; and 
an entire willingness, to submit wholly to his guidance, and direction, be 
established in your heart, and mind. It is, to this, I earnestly call, and 
sincerely urge, you, oh! Andrew Jackson Davis! and every other child of 
Earth, who desires to be, speedily, a Son of God. 

§ 69. How, then, were the revelations of John, or through John, to be made 
useful to the church, when, neither he, nor they, fully understood them. 
The words of his book, were to be sealed up unto the time of the end. 
So were Daniel's. Neither were understood by the prophets, or the 
hearers of the prophecy. Each knew, though, that the source was 
Divine, the writing, or words, given, by Divine Influx. Each submis- 
sively received, and recorded, the words given by the holy spirit to them ; 
and, though both asked for knowledge, of the meaning of what they had 
written, neither of them received it. Daniel, was assured he should stand 
in his place, in the last day, and John, was told he should stand in his. 
They stand now, side by side, in the same circle, of the same sphere. 
And the same union that exists in their prophecies, now exists, and will 
continue to exist, in their spirits, which together, have progressed from 
the Fourth sphere, and together, will progress to the highest circle, of the 
highest sphere. 

§ 70. The Beginning of Wisdom, a sermon, preached by this medium, 
under my direction, on Sunday, May 23d, 1852, at the house of William 
Levingston, in Poughkeepsie, at 4 o'clock and 30 min. P. M. Written by 



65 

the spirit, on Thursday, May 20th, at 4 P. M. ; and, accompanied by the 
prayer given in the Fourth Chapter, of this book. Now, first published; 
having been declined by the Spiritual Telegraph, a newspaper professedly 
desirous of disseminating Spiritual Truth, but really outward, in its views, 
and aims. 

THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM. 

There is, in eveiy man, a desire, to possess wisdom. It is implanted 
in his nature, as an aspiration leading him to good ; leading him to advance ; 
to progress in knowledge. But, by the want of a proper education of this 
part of man's nature, it often happens, that he is led astray, by the very 
faculty, that should lead him, to good. This propensity of man, to depart 
from good, has been thought to depend on the wiles of an enemy ; a being 
that delights in man's misery, and takes pleasure in leading him into sin, 
which is ignorant error ; and, into sin which is active. Passive sin, is 
error of omission. Active sin, is error of commission. But the difference 
is great before God. Man suffers evil without being contaminated by it ; 
but, if he takes 'pleasure in sin, or error, he becomes a castaway. A de- 
parted one from God's grace, and love ; from God's harmony, and bless- 
ings. There is a sin unto death, an unpardonable sin. It is the sin 
spoken of by Paul, and by other New Testament writers, from which a 
man shall not be redeemed by God's mercy. He must suffer the conse- 
quences ; and the consequence, is death to the soul ; so far as the soul can 
die. It is the withdrawal of God's favor and love. It is the absence of 
God's spirit, from the man, that makes him feel all this death in the soul; 
and makes him suffer the torments of the damned, or condemned. For 
these words are synonymous. Shall man escape from this condemna- 
tion, by which he is commanded to depart from the presence of God, from 
Christ his son, from all that is good, and pure, and praiseworthy in other 
beings like himself? Shall he fall then, to rise no more? Shall he suffer 
eternal, everlasting, unendurable, unendured punishment? Yes! unen- 
dured ; for what is eternal, has not been finished ; and an unfinished pun- 
ishment, has not been endured. No : such a punishment does not hecome 
God to inflict ; nor is man capable of enduring it. For though the essence 
of man's nature is immortal, and unchangeable, the very unchangeable, 
and immortal nature, prevents the possibility of condemning it to eternal 
sameness. All else changes but the soul of man, and the attributes of 
Gol God himself is unchangeable; and man was made in his likeness. 
But, you say, man changes from day to day ; and we see him all around 
us presenting various phases of character, at various times. Yes, he pre- 
sents different phases, as do the heavenly bodies, called moons or planets. 
But they are still of the same nature, or essence ; and, even if their form 
were changed instead of a change of phase, still, their essence would re- 
main unchanged. Man, then, is in his essence unchangeable ; and this 
results frarn his being an emanation from the Deity. Whatever is an 
emanation from God, is necessarily unchangeable ; as you will find fully 
proved in the book delivered through L. M. Arnold, and called The His- 
tory of the Origin of All Things. To that I refer you. 

9 



66 

But let us return to the unpardonable sin, upon which so much has 
been said and written, which theologians have speculated about, till they 
have been lost in the labyrinths of their own arguments ; and have finally 
allowed to stand as an opprobrium upon their science, and pretensions of 
being able by reason to find out God, or his unknown things. The unpar- 
donable sin, is the sin against knowledge. All other sins are forgiven to 
men, but this blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, or God's spirit. For, 
Holy Ghost is an obsolete word, that conveys now a different meaning, in 
our language, from that it had, and conveyed, when the Bible was trans- 
lated, in King James I. of England's time. The sin against knowledge. 
This, is the unpardonable sin, that shall not be forgiven unto men, neither 
in this world, nor in the world to come. How then shall men be rid of its 
consequences ? They must suffer them. They must fall from grace, and 
be in the power of, the will of, an enemy of God, otherwise called Satan, 
the Adversary. But this enemy is their own free will ; which, having 
led them to sin against Knowledge for its gratification, becomes, the Ac- 
cuser of their brethren, that is, the Devil. Now it is not generally known 
that the words standing in the English version of the Bible, Satan, and 
Devil, are only two Greek words or rather parts of Greek words, un- 
translated. But so it is; and, by diligent search, such commentators as 
Clarke, and Scott, and all the most misleading ones, will be found to ad- 
mit it. And such is the explanation of them when translated, Enemy, or 
Accuser, as they should be. Yes, the enemy of man is his free will, and 
his will, too, accuses the brethren of crimes, and sin that they never com- 
mitted ; for, he is a liar, and was so from the beginning. So, you see, 
my friends, I do not want you to disbelieve the Bible, but to understand it. 
And how can you ever understand it, but by the light of God's wisdom. 
For now you see through a glass, darkly (by reason) ; but by God's help 
you shall see plainly, as if face to face with a friend. 

And how are you to obtain God's help ? for all are willing to be helped ; 
but few are willing to help. And, yet, until you are willing to help, you 
cannot be helped. What ! you say, shall we first help when we want 
help ? Yes, if you ever get help it will be by helping. First, God will 
not help those, who do not help themselves. Second, he will not help 
those, who will only be helped in their own way. Third, he will not be 
used like a servant, and made to help a man, as if the man employed him. 
None of these ways can you get help. You must kneel to God in your hearts. 
The position of your body is unimportant. The heart must be humble ; and 
must be bowed down, into the dust of the earth, before God. It must be will- 
ing to say, Not my will, but thine, oh ! God, be done. Nor is the lip dec- 
laration of this phrase enough. You must say it with the heart. How 
will you do this! you say. By bowing humbly to God, in jour private 
hours. By beseeching him to help you bow down. By asking him daily, 
hourly, instantly, and always, to help you to do his will : to help you to be 
passive before him ; and, to bring your will into submission, perfectly to 
his. "When you can receive his commands as law; when you can do all, 
and every thing, he requires, then you will be reconciled to God ; in har- 
mony with him; and free from all sin. But the unpardonable sin of dis- 
obeying his known law, his understood command, must be atoned for. He 



67 

will not pardon you ; he will only accept atonement. The atonement he asks, 
is a sacrifice of your will. By that sacrifice, you will have atoned for the 
sin ; and, by that sacrifice, being brought again into union, and commu- 
nion, with him, you are again in a state where you are happy ; but, where 
you may fall again, and may remain fallen, till you have passed from this 
life, or state, to the spirit world ; from which no traveler returns to wan- 
der again in the body of earth. The unpardonable sin then, meets no 
mercy in the life to come. It still separates the man from his Creator ; 
who, indeed loves him, as before ; but, the man is not sensible of the love ; 
and, it is, to him, as if it were not. How shall the man get rid of the sin 
there ? For there is no repentance beyond the grave, says the Bible. 
And, as the tree falls, so it lies, says the inspired penman. I will explain 
this to you, also ; and then, we must close for this time. Unless you ask 
to have it read over to you; for it is a novel doctrine to some of you, that 
all shall be saved ; and, that yet, some sins shall not be pardoned. 

In the life to come, man will still be free to do good, but not to sin. Free 
to grow better, but restrained from evil courses. There, higher and 
purer spirits will, constantly, persuade and entreat him, to progress to- 
wards God. There, God will make the beams of his love felt, as soon as 
man is willing to feel them ; and all that man can do, is to submit to the 
will of God, as he is called on to do here. There, the task is more ardu- 
ous, because the state is a more fnaetive one, as regards works : as re- 
gards acting upon others ; and being acted upon, by others. The last 
shall be first, and the first last. And yet, at last, all shall be first ; and at 
first, all shall be last. It is this, that I shall explain in my next communi- 
cation; and, then you may each bring a friend to hear, what I shall de- 
clare to be the will, and purpose of God. For God does not invite you 
here, to do your will, but to do his. And if you do not obey who know, as 
some do, that these are his commands, you shall be condemned ; for you 
will have committed the unpardonable sin. Let us pray — Pray to God in 
the heart and in silence as our friends, the Quakers, profess to do, but often 
fail to do. 

The first, shall be last ; and the last, shall be first; a sermon, preached 
by this medium, at the house of Win. Levingston, on Sunday, May 30th, 
at 4 o'clock and 30 min. p.m., the same having been written, on Thurs- 
day, May 27th, at 4 p.m., by the spirit of God. Also, now, first pub- 
lished : the same having been offered to, and rejected by, the Spiritual 
Telegraph; a paper devoted, professedly, to the advancement of Spiritual 
progress, but edited in the will of man, and without that submission to 
God's will, which is indispensable to true knowledge, and correct judgment. 

THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST, AND THE FIRST LAST. 

There is, in this sentence, a hidden meaning. It is a puzzling text, 
when not understood ; an instructive one, when explained. 

The first, shall be last; and the last, shall be first. The last, shall 
be first; and first, shall be last. This is all the words convey to 
human reason. If you read the context, you find it does not appear 
to connect itself with this expression. It is a discourse on the vanity 
of human effort, on the futile nature of all reasonable exertions, to over- 



08 

come evil, with good resolutions, unless supported by Go(*. or his influ- 
ence, which is the same thing as himself, because it is a part of him. 
What then shall we understand to be meant by this reiterated assurance, 
that the first, shall be last; and the last, first. This transposition and 
repetition means something, for Jesus was not wasteful of words. He 
did not multiply them for no purpose. On the contrary, all he said was 
so pregnant with meaning, that each sentence may be amplified into a 
book; and though his sayings were many, his recorded ones are few. 
The last, shall be first with God, is the proper reading; (as I gave it in the 
First book of this medium ;) and the first, last with men. But even this 
does not make its meaning plain to him, nor to you. Then I will endeavor 
to lighten your darkness, and to expose your ignorance to yourselves. 

The first, shall be last with men. The first of God's believers, shall 
hold a low rank with God's creatures in the body. The first, shall be last 
with men ; for men will despise their simplicity. They will hoot at their 
claims of God's revelation. They will denounce them as impostors; as 
unworthy of credit, or weight. They will say, Thou fool, thou art mad. 
Give up your vain teachings, your pretended inspiration, your ineffable 
presumption. Let our authorized and paid ministers, or our chosen dea- 
cons, or our ascertained to be inspired preachers, or our certificate bearing 
graduates, let them tell you what to do, what to believe; what this pas- 
sage declares or that text means. You have no skill, no learning, no 
experience in teaching. How can you presume to put forth your sacri- 
legious hand, to stay the shaking A.rk of God's Testimony! 

I shall not now declare by a sign that this medium is inspired. I would 
do it, if it would not add to your guilt, without effecting your reformation. 
For as I told you last week, the known commands of God must be obeyed, 
or you commit an unpardonable sin. And in order to save you from this 
sin, to enable you to take time to listen, to weigh, and to consider, by the 
internal light and sense I have placed within each of you, I refrain in 
mercy from giving you a sign. You, some of you, think you would believe 
if you had some outward proof that J write this sermon instead of its being 
drawn from the intellect of the medium. Some, again, believe I write it, 
but that I do not know much if any more than you do. That you must 
try me by the laws of logic, and square me by the rules of reason. By 
them I am content to abide in your hearts. But you also think that you 
should resist conviction as long as you can, and show how powerful your 
mind is by combating the arguments, and finding fault with the explana- 
tions contained in my sermons. This I object to. Not because it disturbs 
my equanimity, but because it leaves you floundering in uncertainty. 
Reason, or argument, never completely settles a metaphysical question. 
"He who is convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." 
There must be faith. There must be a willingness to hear the truth, and 
a desire to receive it as truth, or no progress can be made. You may 
come here daily, and I may preach hourly to you, and yet the wisdom of 
God himself, could not, and would not, affect your free-will. You have 
the power to be first, or last, with him, or men. Would you stand well 
with both? Would you serve God and the world ? You cannot do it any 
more than men could 1800 years ago. You cannot serve two masters. 



You must give up one. Reason tells you to give up the world. Pride 
tells you not to. Reason says, God's rewards are more bountiful, more 
glorious, more secure, than those of men. But pride says, What will the 
world say? They will say, he is deluded! What a pity so sensible a 
man should be so carried away ! And, after all too, they will say, he had 
no evidence! The dead were not raised; the sick were not healed; the 
lame did not walk; the blind did not see! There was not even any rap- 
ping heard, when the beautiful explanations, that somehow were strung 
together by the medium, were read ! How then shall I believe, you sa}% 
if God will not give me a sign ? How shall I excuse myself to my friends, 
to my acquaintances, to the world? I must have a sign! What sign, oh! 
son of Earth! shall I give? I teach heavenly things, and ye do not turn 
a listening mind. You hear with the outward, but you do not open the 
inward. If you would open the inward, by joining with your hearts and 
minds in the prayer, my medium read for you last week, and which he 
shall read again when two or three request it, then I can affect you with 
a sign. Then I can give you the sign of the Son of Man coming in clouds 
of glory. Like the shining of the lightning from the East, unto the West, 
will be the rapidity with which I will pervade your heart with my pres- 
ence. I will give you peace. Peace, which the world cannot take away, 
neither can it give. Peace, which God delights to perceive in a man's 
heart. Peace, which nothing but man's Free-will can deprive him of. 
But there is your great adversary, called in the English translation Satan, 
ever ready to impel you to reject me after I have entered into your heart, 
and conferred upon you this blessed peace. You will say, you cannot con- 
trol j our nature, it is evil. / say, you can control your nature, for God 
made it good, and he himself pronounced it so. But He gave you Free- 
Will. Free-will is your distinguishing character, and element. What 
you choose to do, you will do. If you choose God, well. If Baal, or the 
world, well. But always remember you have the choice, and that it is 
not left by God to me, to choose for you; but, for you, to choose for your- 
self. Here you are, a small number, calling yourselves Spiritual believers, 
asking for a sign; and, if I had promised a sign, you would have had your 
numbers swelled to the full capacity of the house. And yet a greater 
than any before given sign, is here. For here is a medium you all know 
to have no object of his own to serve, departing from all his connexions 
and church; and, at a trial to his own feelings, how great, is scarcely to be 
conceived by one who has not been led through it ; I say, here is my servant, 
reading to you what I have given him for the occasion. Is it not a greater 
sign than to hear the alphabet called, and a few sentences tediously spelled 
out letter by letter? Is it not a greater sign, than to hear raps, to hear 
heavenly truth? Is it not better to have writing read in this way, than to 
see it performed, with a scrawling hand, in the will of questioners? What 
question can you ask so important as that ancient one? What shall a man 
give in exchange for his soul? or, what shall I do to be saved? It was 
this last, that Paul and Silas's jailer asked when he saw the sign of their 
authority. But would you ask this question in answer to my shaking this 
house, or these doors being thrown open? No: I tell you that if the won- 
derful works were done in your presence, that were done in Galilee 1800 



70 

years ago, you would still say, Let us see more done. Let us bring more 
friends to witness them. Let us continue to pursue our way, and do you 
go on your way making signs, convincing people that there is a mysterious 
agency present, and persuading crowds to collect to gratify a vain curiosity. 
But, my friends, I am not desirous to persuade you to hear wonders, but to 
do good. To save yourselves from ignorance, fear, and torturing doubt, 
To save yourselves from sin. To save yourselves from long ages of trial 
and atonement, in a life to come ; and from unhappiness, or unsatisfied 
yearnings of heart, here. 

To do this, it is necessary that you submit to be taught by God ; and he 
now opens for you the door of reconciliation and instruction, through this 
medium; who, having submitted his will to mine, is rewarded by being 
used contrary to his expectation. By being called upon to do just what 
he in the first place most dreaded, when I proposed it to him. Yet, for 
all that, my yoke is easy, and my burden light. For all that, he is satis- 
fied, and would not, by any means, exchange positious with any man you 
know. For the reward of, Well done good and faithful servant shall be 
his: and this he has been told; and he has been told he shall have greater 
work to do, as a greater reward. But he is no longer discouraged by be- 
ing told of the work I have in store for him. He is now obedient, and 
passive. I can manage him freely, and he resists me not. When you 
are willing to be so ruled, you shall also have my government; and could 
you be persuaded to permit me to so rule you, you too would with joy 
say, Not my feet only, but my whole body. For the feet must first be 
washed, and then all may be supposed clean. Because that is all that is 
visible. But the true purification is inward, and must be by the regenera- 
tion of the heart. 

The truth of the matter is, that you are too outward, and that you can- 
not enter the kingdom of heaven till you are more spiritual minded. It is 
very pleasing for you to look back, and see that you have got rid of the 
fetters of traditionary horror, that you no longer fear hell. But that is 
not all, by any means, that I want done. I do not want merely an absence 
of evil, to exist in man ; but I want a positive good. Good works, I shall 
expect from you ; but the first thing, I call on you for, is, your heart. 
Unless you give me your hearts, you cannot do me any good, nor advance 
your own salvation from error and ignorance. 

Let us pray. 

Almighty, and most merciful Father! I, who am thy attendant spirit, 
beloved by thee; and striving to do thy will, because I know that thy will 
is perfect, and that I am not perfect; because I am thy son, I desire to be 
like thee, and to be merciful and loving to those, whom thou hast placed 
in my charge. Oh ! God ! be thou particularly manifest in the hearts of 
this sinful people, who have the desire to know thee, but will not know 
thee : who love to hear of thy ways, but do them not. May it please 
thee to touch them with thy grace, and convince their reason, and lead 
their inclination powerfully into subjection to thee. For they will, oh! 
Lord God! that thou shouldst take the government upon thy shoulders, 
and that thou shouldst be the leader, and general, in every contest with 



71 

their will. But thou, oh! God! knowest their infirmity, and that they are 
dead to thee, till thy grace shall shine forth in them, and bring forth fruits 
proper for their state. May it please thee, then, to be their teacher and 
guide, and to lead them to living fountains, after which they shall thirst no 
more. The life to come, oh! God! let them provide for here, by living so 
as not to die to thy presence within them; and, so as to advance rapidly 
in the life to come. Oh God! thou art the giver of every good gift! Give 
unto us, who seek thy glory, and act in thy name, thy assistance and favor; 
so that we may persevere, and accomplish a good work. So that in days 
to come, they, with Thee, may be a bulwark against the progress of error 
in thy children, and against the growth of children without faith. Oh! 
God ! help us all to pray acceptably to thee, without wrath or contention, 
or divided minds. So that we may love thee for thy glory, and glorify 
thee by our love, and be noted as thy people, amongst a people wholly 
devoted to thy honor, praise, and love. 

Oh God! thou knowest that I love thee, and delight to serve thee; and, 
that my works do praise thee, even as thy works do praise thee. May it 
please thee now to confirm and strengthen in the hearts of these, would 
be servants of thine, every good resolution, every holy aspiration, every 
lovely impulse. May it please thee, by thy power, to establish their 
faith; and by thy love, establish them in grace, and knowledge, and love 
of thee. Oh! God ! let them not be dismayed by the world's powers, or 
deterred from seeking to have more of -thy holy communion, by tears or 
prayers of unknowing relatives, or friends. Establish them, oh ! God ! on 
thy holy mountain of Jerusalem ; the city of David ; the city, or dwelling 
place, of peace. And, may it please thee, to so show forth in them the 
light of thy counsel and help, that they may turn many to righteousness, 
and be strengthening pillars in Zion's Church. Amen. 

Brethren, I have prayed for you this prayer, that you might have light, 
and life. If you, oh! people! could join me in making it, as my medium 
joins me, you could advance yourselves, as he has, by joining in it, 
- advanced himself. Be faithful, and remember that each man must do his 
own work. No man, or spirit, however high, can save a brother, or a son, 
however low. Each man must work out his own salvation. And, when 
man does undertake with earnest desire, to do his own work of salvation, 
or uniting himself with God, he cannot fail. For God only asks you to be 
willing to let him help, and he will help; and if God be on your side, you 
need not fear man, or spirit, for nothing then can separate you from the 
love of God. Not heighth, nor depth, nor mountains or valleys of worldly 
elevation or depression, can separate the believer from his teacher, or the 
Son of God from his Father. 

May the Grace of God be in you, and remain with you, now and ever- 
more, is my sincere prayer and desire to God; to whom, is all glory, 
honor, thanksgiving, and praise, now, and forever, beyond the world's end. 
Amen. 

Hymn, or chant, directed to be sung, at the first and second meeting 
above alluded to, written on Saturday, May 22d, 1852, and left with Jacob 
Fitchet to perform. He failed to do the work I gave him, for which he 



72 

was called, and chosen, and his excuse was no better than Eve's, or 
Adam's, for which they were expelled from Paradise; and, for which, 
he suffers now condemnation. 

Mr. Fitchet will please to arrange to sing first (after the sermon has 
been twice read) the hymn "Oh be joyful all the earth," and the added 
verse at the foot of it, "Be joyful," etc. And then after a short pause, 
sing with the aid of all good and well disposed singers the hymn "I would 
not live alway," etc. The medium will then pronounce a blessing, and 
the meeting disperse. 

Oh! be joyful, all the earth; 
And all ye people, praise the Lord. 
For he is good, and his mercy endureth forever. 

Oh ! be joyful, oh ! ye people, 
And all ye servants of his, give thanks unto the Lord. 
For he is good, and his mercy endureth forever. 

Oh ! be joyful, all who mourn, 
Be comforted all ye afflicted, very good is the Lord. 
And all his works and creatures praise the Lord. 

Praise the Lord, all who are upon the earth; 
Praise him for his mighty works, and praise him — 
For he is good, and his mercy endureth forever. 

With trumpets, and with shawms, all ye people, 
With every tuneful noise, and heartfelt praise, 
Give thanks, for his mercy endureth forever. 

Be joyful! oh! earth, 

Be joyful ! all ye people, 
For I am God, and none other is God, forever. 
For I am good, and my mercy endureth forever. 

I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY. 

I would not live alway ; I ask not to stay, 
Where storm, after storm, rises dark o'er the way; 
I would not live alway; no, welcome the tomb, 
Since Jesus has lain there, I dread not its gloom. 

Who, who, would live alway ; away from his God, 
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode, 
Where rivers of pleasure, flow o'er the bright plains, 
And the noontide of glory eternally reigns. 

Where the saints, of all ages, in harmony meet, 
Their Saviour, and brethren, transported, to greet 
While the anthems of rapture, unceasingly roll, 
And the smile of our God, is the Life of the Soul. 



Order of proceeding, to be observed, at the first meeting of Spiritual 

believers, held (etc., as above). Written, on Friday, May 21, 1852, at 4 P.M. 

First. Calling on all present to be reverent as usual at religious meet- 



73 

ings, read the rules yourself to the assembly. Hand them back to Lev- 
ingston. 

Second. .Read the prayer I wrote this morning in the Second Book 
(see p. 15), prefacing it by the following remarks, which may be read or 
spoken by you. 

My friends, I am informed that there are many here who will expect 
a failure. There are some who hope for good. There are others 
who have come merely from curiosity, whilst a few have confidence that 
God himself speaks to his children, as of old, through the mouths or me- 
dium of divinely inspired men. Such are right. The former classes will 
be gratified according to their expectation. Those who want a failure, 
can and may call it one. Those who have hope, shall realize their hope. 
Those who ask their own gratification, will witness a display of God's good- 
ness and love for men. Whether they will be benefited depends on them- 
selves. 

Third. Read the sermon I gave you on Thursday endorsed, Given for 
the first meeting of Spiritual believers held in Poughkeepsie by Divine 
Appointment. 

Fourth. Ask if it is the desire of any to hear it read again. If it be, 
dismiss all who do not choose to remain, and then read it again. After a 
suitable pause, let the brethren who can sing with fervor and spirit unite 
in singing the Hymn, "I would not live alway, I ask not to stay," and also 
the Hymn, "Be joyful, oh earth, be joyful, all ye people, for I am God 
and none other is God." This hymn I will write this afternoon. 

Fifth. Dismiss the assembly with a blessing in these words — 

May God so shine into your hearts as to expel therefrom all darkness, 
contention or strife. May he deliver you from your own wills, into the 
freedom of his glorious kingdom of peace, righteousness, and heavenly or 
Divine Love. Amen. 

The grace of God be with you all, forever more. 

Then leave without further delay or turning back. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

Avoid all unnecessaiy form or ceremony. Read and address the assem- 
bly sitting. Let the singers be prepared beforehand, so that no confusion 
will ensue. Leave that matter to Fitchet. 

Let the assembly act as they may feel best satisfied, as regards stand- 
ing, or kneeling, or bowing, during the prayer. Do you read it, naturally, 
attentively, and carefully. Slowly, but not too slow, for good reading. 

For Levingston. The arrangements as to time and place are left alto- 
gether to you and other believers you may advise with. It will be proper 
for you to advise with them and select some suitable place and a time that 
will not interfere with other places of worship, and the form and manner 
of giving notice is also to be left to you and your associates. Proceed now 
to do your work. 

Read the above to Levingston as soon as you go in. Let it be to him 
alone. 

§ 71. Order, or Rules, to be observed, at the meetings of Spiritual bbr-, 

10 



74 

lievers, held, at William Levingston's, on Sunday, May 23d, 1852, and 
hereafter, at such times, and places, as the Spiritual believers may select, 
and give notice of, to the medium. To be read at each meeting. 

First. The order of proceeding shall be announced by the medium, 
whose presence is required. 

Second. The orderly attention and deportment, that becomes civilized 
society, will be expected from all who may attend. 

Third. Seats will be taken as pointed out by the master of the house, 
without comment or ceremony. 

Fourth. All who attend will be required to be obedient to these rules, 
or suffer expulsion, by request, from the master of the house, or from the 
medium. 

Fifth. When the services of the medium are concluded, the attending 
believers are requested to adjourn without delay. A continuance would 
lead to unprofitable discussions. 

Sixth. The full size of the house should be consulted in giving invita- 
tions ; but the invitations should be confined to sincere inquirers after truth. 
Where any one is in doubt about inviting a friend or acquaintance,, be 
should ask the opinion of the spirit, and an answer will be given through 
the medium. The name need not be given him, but the question must 
not be asked as a test, or in any similar view. 

Seventh. The medium will only answer as to the propriety of permit- 
ting him to attend, and a member of the circle who shall invite one rejected 
by the spirit, as declared by the medium, shall not be deemed worthy of 
progress in truth, till he makes atonement, and confession. 

Having now given a specimen of the kind of worship I am pleased with, 
I have only to say, in addition, that the number who attended was small, 
and of those, not one was believing. 

§ 72. But my medium was not discouraged ; because, he believed, First, 
that I could have made a different result, had I willed it; Second, because 
he remembered, that Jesus of Nazareth preached three years and a half, 
in Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, and in that time of almost daily spiritual 
ministration, and miracle working, during which crowds followed and were 
fed by him, both outwardly, and inwardly, and thousands, and tens of 
thousands, of physical cures were effected by him, was left, at last, with 
scarcely a follower to attend him, on his trial for blasphemy, and sacrilege, 
and was led to his crucifixion, amidst the jeers, and taunts, of that multi- 
tude, who, so shortly before, went shouting around him, Hosanna! Ho- 
sanua! to the Son of David! Blessed is he who cometh in the name of 
the Lord! Hail! King of Zion! and other unrecorded exclamations. 
Success, then, is not a test of merit, either in spiritual, or temporal mat- 
ters. But, yet, God overrules all things for good; and however small 
appeared to have been the result of the preaching of Jesus, it soon, was 
evident, that his precepts were to be practiced, at least, to some extent, 
and he himself to be taken, as the great exemplar of all men. But, is my 
medium, to make the ridiculous pretension, that he, like Jesus, will be 
honored after death, even as Jesus was, because, like him, he has met 
with no believers here ? No, I do not make it for him, neither does he 
make it for himself. He shall meet with believers in this state, and this 



75 

book will be the means of raising him, to a consideration, he is not prop- 
erly entitled to, and does not desire to receive. For, this book, is an un- 
folding of knowledge, of the hidden things of God, as to which man has, 
in all ages of the world, been most curious. This book, enlightens them, 
on its darkest portions, and taken as a sequel, or continuation, of the First 
Book, it forms, a complete chain of reasoning, which will be sufficient to 
satisfy, the candid enquirer, of its own truthful character, and revelation. 

§ 73. Were it necessary, I would confirm the truth of this revelation 
by miracles : such as raising the dead, or healing the sick. But the time, 
has not yet come for these. When the time comes, it will be done ; and 
through this medium, first. But some will say, why do you not give us a 
sign now ? This book is a sign, and he who is wise will so regard it. 
Blessed are they who believe ; but more blessed, are they who believe, 
not because of outward signs, but by internal evidence. Who believe, be- 
cause the witnessing spirit within themselves, declares to them the truth 
of revelations, made to others, for them. This will be the case with 
many, with all, who desire firstly, and principally, the establishment of 
true notions of God, and man, and the Future. Those who desire other 
things, before these, will not receive it, for receiving it, they would reject 
it, and thereby commit the same sin the Jews did, who rejected Jesus 
Christ ; the Savior sent to them, with power to work miracles, and to 
teach, as no man taught. This unpardonable sin, I wish you to avoid ; 
and, I will not force it on you, by giving the internal declaration of your 
own spirit to you, when you desire, before all else, the establishment of 
your own theory, your own church, your own doctrine, your own good 
temporally, or your sole good spiritually. The true worshiper, worships 
the Father, in spirit, and truth. And the Father will have such to wor- 
ship him. But he, who blinds himself to the fact, that God is as great 
now, as ever ; that he is omniscient, and omnipresent, as ever; that he is 
as willing to save men from sin, as ever ; that he is, indeed, unchanged, as 
he is unchangeable ; that he is now, as ever, willing to be his people's 
guide, by night, and by day ; and as ready to declare himself openly, or by 
outward sign, as ever ; can never experience, or enjoy, that peace, which 
God bestows upon those who receive him, in the way of his coming. Too 
many, ask him to come in their way. Too many, are exclaiming without 
authority, Lo here is Christ, or Lo! he is there! Whereas, he is in 
you, except ye be reprobate. And if you be reprobate, oh ! child of 
Earth ! turn, turn to God ; turn within yourselves ; for, be assured, that 
God is not very far from you. 

§ 74. Walk humbly before God, do justice, love mercy, and seek by 
prayer to God, looking within yourself for an answer, what else he re 
quires of you. Nothing else, you infer from the Psalmist's expression, 
and it is only, that you so walk before him, as humbly to receive his 
counsel, and direction, in your heart, or mind. For he will write his law 
upon your heart, and put it in your inward part. Flee, then, from the 
wrath to come. For the time of the end draws near, when the heavens, 
of men, shall wither, and roll up like a scroll, and the sun, and moon, and 
stars, of the imaginations of men, shall fall to the Earth, in which they 
originated. Then shall appear the sign of the Sou of Man, Jesus of Naz- 



76 

areth, coming in the clouds of great glory. His kingdom, shall be an 
everlasting kingdom ; of his glory, honor, and dominion, power, authority 
and praise, there shall be no end. For, unto him the Sonship is given ; 
as Daniel declared it should be; and, unto all men, the Son is given, as it 
was declared he came to all. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. The 
day has dawned. The light of its glory, is evidenced in the mechanical, 
and physical, advances; in the abundance of gold, and silver; in the dis- 
coveries of science, in the revelations of spirits ; and the establishment of 
Christ's Kingdom, in this nation of the people of the United States, will com- 
mence, has commenced already. It will proceed, for who shall withstand 
him. The armies of heaven follow him, and all the four and twenty elders 
(the Jewish and the Christian Church,) the twelve tribes, and the twelve 
apostles, and the four living creatures, (the four kingdoms Daniel prophe- 
sied of,) and all the saints of the Most High, from every nation, kindred, 
tongue, and people, with one mind, declare, Thou art Worthy! Worthy ! 
Worthy ! Thou art worthy, to open the seals of that book, which re- 
veals to man, the future he must pass through, to arrive at the glorious 
company of the Sons of God, who shout for joy, at the announcement, 
That now is come salvation, and honor, and power; praise, and glory, for 
evermore, to the sons of Earth, to make them Sons of God. 

§ 75. What then shall I do to be saved ? you will some of you ask. 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ; thou and thy 
house. Let us see what this primitive .creed required, and implied; for 
this is all the profession of faith, that was then, necessary to make a Chris- 
tian follower, and admit the follower, as a member of the great, and uni- 
versal church of God. And this is enough for the present time, if it was 
enough for that; for now, there are fewer temptations to draw a man 
back, from the good work, than then. Then there was persecution, and 
the Jew, on one side, the heathen idolater, on the other : the one, de- 
claring. We have the whole counsel of God ; the other, pointing, to the 
wise, great, and good, who had worshiped, and sanctioned by their ex- 
ample, the magnificent temples, the splendid ceremonies, the mighty or- 
acles, and the everlasting Gods, whom their fathers in all former time, as 
they believed, had worshiped. And, if they resisted both these, then 
came the philosopher, the gnostic, declaring, That by reason man could 
find out God, for the prophets had never declared as much respecting 
him, as they could. When all these had exhausted their arts, then came 
the son of Earth, unwilling to admit any man as better than himself, de- 
claring, That Jesus was God ; and that he must be worshiped as God ; 
and that unless he was worshiped as very God, himself, the refusing soul 
must be condemned, to eternal undying punishment, in material and un- 
quenchable fire. If not overcome by this, he must withstand yet another 
assault. He would be assailed by the Trinitarian, who would assure 
him, There were three Gods, and one God ; and that he must worship 
all the Gods equally, but yet only one God; and, that should he fail to 
render this worship equally, and justly, he could never receive the re- 
wards of heaven, but must suffer the punishment, of rejecting that Christ, 
in whom the believer had professed his belief, in the same manner, as the 
jailor of Paul and Silas had. But let us enquire exactly the meaning of 



77 

this profession, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Messiah, is the 
true reading. Jesus, was the Messiah, whom the Jews looked for. He 
was, also, the undefined, extraordinary, manifestation, that the Eastern 
fire-worshipers, and the Western idolaters, expected. He fulfilled all 
expectations, but not to the satisfaction of mankind. All expected him to 
teach the doctrines, they believed, respectively ; and to maintain, and 
establish, their own respective modes of worship. He came in his 
own, or God's own way, and preached unheard of doctrine, and estab- 
lished no church. He died, without having left directions for the for- 
mation, of a church, or a confession of faith. Still we need not infer from 
this, that no church ought to be organized, or that no creed should be es- 
tablished. But we do infer, and ought to be allowed to infer, that he did 
not consider them essential ; nor, indeed, of any considerable importance. 
Then the apostles, found themselves, without any outward guide in this 
matter, when they began to gather the church ; and they filled its offices, 
as seemed, at the time, wise, and expedient, by appointing discreet per- 
sons to them. Their superior claims to authority, were, as of course, un- 
contradicted at first, and in general, always. Though Paul's claims, were 
more disputed, as he had not been one of the Twelve, first chosen, though 
he was really the twelfth, taking the place of Judas, who fell, by acting in 
his own will. For Jesus of Nazareth, in his spiritual body, appeared to 
Paul, and called, and chose him, even as fully, and more extraordinarily, 
than the other eleven. Paul, then was an apostle, as he claimed to be, 
and the appointment of Matthias, was an act of the eleven, acting in their 
own wills, and without the Divine Influx, or command. Paul answered 
the jailor's question, What shall I do to be saved ? Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. He also told 
him what outward form he would require. Baptism. And immediately 
he was baptized, he and all his household. But, in these latter days, men 
have not been so easily admitted, and allowed to bring their families, un- 
questioned into the church. But are men, out of churches, any less 
Christian, now, thau they were then ? Oh, no, but you say the times 
are now different, and experience has proved to the church, that a longer 
probation, or a fuller profession, was necessary, or at least expedient. 
Well, then, you admit Paul did not know so well as you, how to conduct 
the church government ; or, else, you claim that he did not act by inspira- 
tion, and, that, therefore, he could not be expected to choose a form, 
that would not need amendment. Choose for yourselves, on which horn 
of the dilemma, you will hang. But you must hang on one, or the other, 
or admit, that you, yourselves, are in error. This last, I shall take, to be 
the case ; for, I would rather defend Paul, than you. I will then sup- 
pose, that some of you will agree with me, that Paul's creed was long 
enough, and then I will go back to its explanation. Christ, is put for 
Messiah, and you will find, that the learned admit, that it is a word put 
for Messiah, though not possessing the same meaning Yet, in general, 
I use it freely, for its true meaning, which is Spirit of God, is expressive 
of Jesus's distinguishing feature, the possession of God's spirit, or guidance, 
in a most remarkable, and, on Earth, unique manner. Belief, then, in 
Jesus Messiah, was the only requirement, for faith to be professed, in 



78 

Paul's time. Or, at least, when he began his preaching, and receiving of 
converts. Paul, though, did explain to the jailor, who, and what, was 
Jesus ; and showed, as he had a persuasive way of doing, that the Mes- 
siah had been, long before, much prophesied of; and, that the time for 
him to come had arrived, and passed ; and, that he had come, in the very 
way, time, and place, fixed upon in the prophecies ; and, that Jesus of Naz- 
areth, was he. Then, he further explained to his attentive listener, that 
he must necessarily be crucified, as he was, and as I have explained to 
you, in this book, already. Then, as his listener, instead of asking to 
have the walls of the prison shaken, or the gates thrown open again, per- 
sisted in being attentive to the explanation of the brief reply Paul had 
made to his one great question, which in fact is, to each son of Earth, 
the great question, as he continued attentive, Paul willingly showed, how- 
it was that belief in him, must necessarily include a belief in the reality 
of his miracles, and of his authority to teach, and of the doctrines, and pre- 
cepts, that he had taught, or promulgated. Then, he went on, and 
showed to him, that if he believed these doctrines, and precepts, that he 
must practice them. That they were not merely matters of speculation; 
or themes for congratulation that they were true, and praiseworthy ; but 
that believers were required to do something more, than to exult over the 
poor, ignorant, worldly-minded, outward followers, of burdensome faiths, 
and sectarian religions. That believers had really a work to do ; First, to 
sacrifice to God their own will ; Second, to obey God's direction, when- 
ever they received it ; Third, to desire to receive it, continually, in order 
that all they did, might tend to God's glory, by being entirely done in his 
will ; Fourth, that God directing them always, they should ever be de- 
sirous to serve, and never to seek to lead, the spirit within them, and that 
this course would make them joint heirs with Christ, the Messiah, in the 
Sonship, to which he was destined. And, at last, that he should fear 
nothing, but trust fully to God, and to the direction of God's spirit within 
him, for salvation from every earthly peril, or spiritual depression, diffi- 
culty, or doubt. When this discourse was ended, Paul left a man, pre- 
pared for works, and rewards, and a man who afterwards did do w T ork, 
and receive the reward of being chosen, to suffer for Christ's, or the Mes- 
siah's sake, or name of belief. He died a martyr's death, and received a 
martyr's reward. That of hearing, in his heart, the assurance from God, 
through his high, and holy, spirits, Well done, good and faithful servant, 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Thou hast been faithful in small 
matters, and I will give great ones into thy charge. And, then, he be- 
came an elevated, and rapidly progressive, spirit, in the life to come. This 
man, never had any other creed, than, I believe in One God, and Jesus 
Messiah, whom he hath sent. He was a Jew, and Paul did not ask 
him to profess, what all Jews believed, with unfaltering firmness in that 
day ; though, in the days of their fathers, it had been very different, and 
quite the contrary, at times, before the Babylonian Captivity, as I have be- 
fore briefly described. 

§ 76. This is the History of Paul's creed, as then promulgated ; and 
from whence did Paul derive it? Was it his invention? or was he an 
inspired medium, through which God himself, by his spirits, spoke ? or, 



79 

was ho only impressed, with his convictions of truths, in spiritual matters? 
He was sometimes a medium, sometimes impressed, and sometimes, he 
acted in his own will, by his unaided intellect. But, in this matter, he had 
a more impressive conviction, and direction, than either of these. For, 
when he travelled with letters, authorizing him to torture, and imprison, 
believers in Jesus Messiah, he saw a light, and he heard a voice, saying 
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me. It is hard for thee to struggle 
against thy convictions of duty. Thou art already convinced that I am 
Jesus, whom thou persecutest, and that Jesus is Messiah. And, imme- 
diately, Paul was obedient to the heavenly vision. He did not ask for it 
to be repeated, or for another test. He knew, that it was pride, that had 
before smothered his convictions of duty, and of error, which had been 
growing upon him, gradually, after he had, in full faith that he was doing 
God service, commenced the persecution of believers in Jesus Messiah. 
He had his reputation at stake. He was a young man, of great prospects 
of advancement in the Jewish congregation, full of zeal for his church, 
and ambitious for himself of its honors. How hard a struggle it must 
have been, before he saw the vision, when he found his mind wavering 
between his church, his nation, his teachers, his friends, his family, his 
ambition, on the one side, and the despised dogs of believers in Jesus Mes- 
siah, on the other. Believers in one, who, though his followers said, had 
worked miracles, had yet suffered himself to be executed for blasphemy, 
upon that awful, and terrible, tree, called the cross. A punishment, to the 
Jew, the most degrading, and the most shocking to his feelings, of the 
whole catalogue of criminal executions ; so much so, that every subject 
of it, was accounted accursed, forever. Can you imagine yourself in 
Paui's place and situation, and believe you w r ould have yielded to one 
vision, and then become a preacher of Jesus, whom you had so persecu- 
ted, and that without going back to Jerusalem, to see what father or 
mother, sister or brother, teacher or friend, would have thought of your 
vision, and what they would advise you to do? Paul, immediately, with- 
out consulting flesh and blood, began to preach Jesus Messiah, and hhn 
crucified. He did not strive to reconcile his former notions, with his pres- 
ent knowledge. He did not care to know, what the people of Jerusalem, 
who had just sent him forth to execute vengeance upon true believers, 
would say, when they should hear, that he, too, had become infected with 
the pestilent delusion! No: he had only the guide of his inward direc- 
tion, the spirit of Jesus, speaking in him, to himself. 

§ 77. And this guide, every man may have, if he will act as Paul did ; 
and, surely, you will not venture to say, that any man now, can have such 
claims of right to hesitate, as Paul had ? You may think you can say, he 
had a most extraordinary vision, and a further sign, by being struck with 
blindness! But oh! wicked and perverse generation! you are wise in 
your own conceit. You persuade yourselves, that electricity, or magnet- 
ism, or odic force, or the will of the medium, or your own hallucination, 
produces the outward sigos I have allowed to be given in your day. Are 
you convinced by them, and led to turn inward, to see what God has for 
you to do? Do you ask, What shall I do to be saved? Or, Lord! what 
wilt thou that I do? No; you laugh, to think how disbelievers must be 



80 

confounded, at this sound, or that test. You chuckle, at the idea, that 
you are so far in advance of the world, as to be thoroughly convinced, that 
the manifestations are spiritual. You long, perhaps, to become a medium ; 
or, to have one in your family ; and, for what? Why that you could invite 
skeptics, terrify the fearful, shock the pious believer in the old theology, 
or shake the world, by astounding revelations from the spirit world. Or, 
perhaps, more sordid views, impel your desire to be, or to possess, a me- 
dium. Perhaps, you would exhibit for money, or, you would dig for gold, 
under spiritual direction; or, you would make some great scientific discov- 
ery, or settle a controverted point in history, or chronology, or geology, or 
science, or art, of some kind. But, for none of these things do I work. 
My medium has been actuated, by nearly all these motives ; but I never 
gave him a sound, except, when, as with others, he paid his dollar, once, 
to Mrs. Fish. And then, under my knowledge, I impressed him so, that 
he prepared himself with written questions, of which no test could be 
made. He received his answers, and, afterward, believed no more than 
before. So it has been with hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thou- 
sands, of others, who have witnessed the outward signs or manifestations. 
Yet they have their use, or they would not have been permitted. They 
have their abuses, and so do all good things. But, when they cease to be 
useful, they will cease to be. So, in the early Christian church, there 
were the outward signs, of healing the sick, and raising the dead, of 
speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of them, of the receiving 
the holy spirit of God into the heart, or mind, of the believer, by the lay- 
ing on of hands. But all these signs ceased, as Paul perceived they 
would, and now, the church still keeps up the form of some of them, 
whilst there is no resemblance of realization ; and of others, the very 
nature of them, is a subject of conjecture; so entirely, and so early, did 
they cease to be manifested. So it will be with the outward signs, of this 
new movement. They will do their work, which is all the good they can 
do, and they will then cease. There will then be found those ready to 
deny they ever existed, as there are now, vast numbers, denying that they 
do exist. And how shall the truth of revelation then be established, if 
signs are withdrawn ! In reply, I ask, how shall it be established unless 
they are withdrawn ? This very day, my medium has been informed, that 
the believers in this place, do not think it interesting to hear revelations 
of God's will; but, that if any outward signs, or manifestations, are to be 
exhibited, they will all attend! Oh! Sons of Earth! Oh! low and igno- 
rant minds! Whether is the altar, or he that sanctifieth the altar to be 
worshiped ? Whether is the temple, or he that dwelleth in the temple, 
to be thought much of? Whether is Jerusalem the place to worship, or 
the place where God is? which is the heart of man. There is God. And, 
when you turn there for your sign, you shall have the sign promised of 
olden time, the sign of the son of man, coming in clouds of glory. As 
the lightning shineth from the East to the West, from the one part of 
heaven, even unto the other part of heaven, so shall the coming be. The 
instant, you complete the sacrifice of the heart to God, it will be filled with 
his glory; the glory of the only begotten son of God. Then will you find, 
Great and marvellous are thy works, oh! Lord God Almighty! Just, and 



81 

true, are thy ways* thou King of Saints ! Wherewith shall I come before 
the Lord, my God? Shall I render my first born son, or, shall I sacrifice 
the blood of rams, or bulls, or firstlings of the flock! . The sacrifice of a 
broken, and a contrite heart, oh ! God ! thou requirest of me, and of every 
man. and of every spirit of man. But men cannot understand this, till I 
establish the truth, and certainty of this revelation. They have Moses, 
and the prophets, and they will not believe them. The dead have been 
raised, and they believe that, but they will not believe me. They have 
had the precepts of Jesus, and they will not act upon them. They have 
had the Comforter, the Spirit of God, but they would not be led by him 
into Truth. They have now rappings, and writings, and they will not 
turn to God, but follow after the outward, neglecting the inward. What 
remains? Shall the master of the feast, say to his servants, Go out, and 
compel them to come in, that my tables may be filled ! Shall he also turn 
out, those, who press forward to the table, without the wedding garment, 
denoting that they had not been called, or invited ? Yea, verily, this will he 
do. He will not violate your Free-will, but he will make one more effort, 
to conquer your reason, and prejudice. To seize your attention, and nail 
your convictions. To lead you to living fountains, where you will drink, 
and no more thirst for the outward. To lead you to the pool, and put you 
in, whilst the waters within you are troubled, and before any other man 
gets ahead of you, robbing them of their virtue, and efficacy. My signs, 
shall accompany my preacher. My evidence, outward, shall accompany 
my appeal to the inward monitor, and, I will thus, try to, make you all 
mediums. Prepare then for greater things than these. For, as for those 
unworthy servants, who did not do their Lord's bidding, and who do not 
hereafter do it, they shall be seized, and bound, and cast into the outer 
darkness, where there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of 
teeth. Where, their worm dieth not; and, where, even, the ungodly 
perish. Perish, not by eternal death, or annihilation, but as I have before 
explained, perish, as regards every good motive, every lofty purpose, every 
desire for reconciliation, and unity, with God. Not forever, but it may be 
for what, to man's finite ideas, would seem forever, so long a period would 
it be. Repent, then, for the Kingdom of Heaven, is at hand. Repent, 
or fear condemnation, to the left hand of God. To that position I have 
described, and, in which, so long as you remain, your punishment will be 
everlasting. The word everlasting, does not express the true meaning I 
now have in view, nor the meaning it has in the original Greek of the 
gospels. Its true meaning, rendered in English, is, The continuance equal 
to a long and indefinite period. And, analogy of its use, in other authors, 
shows this. But do not think it is nothing, if it is not eternal. For, from 
everlasting to everlasting, that is, from one long and indefinite period to 
another long and indefinite period, will this punishment, and comparative 
suffering, continue, till you do, just what you can now do, with less sacri- 
fice, more facility, and as sure a salvation, which, by this means may be 
more immediately secured to you. Be wise to day, for you know not 
what to-morrow may bring forth. Give your heart to God now, for to- 
morrow, conviction may be less strong, worldly desires more powerful, 
oride, or pretended, and perhaps, sincerely felt, friendship, may rem'*"- 

11 



82 

strate, so effectually as to place you beyond the reach of God's mercy, for 
this long and indefinite period. During all that time, you must suffer the 
want of happiness. The deprivation of the realization, of your desires. 
For the desires of man's Free-will, are ordained to be unsatisfactory, 
when realized. All is vanity, vanity of vanities, said the preacher; and, 
so, eveiy soul has found it ; and, so, every soul will find it, till time shall 
be no more. Why then will ye die? oh! people of Earth! God's door 
of mercy is ever open, and he calls you continually to, Come! Come 
unto me, all ye heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is 
easy, and my burden light. Fear not, then, for when you have come to 
me, I am with you, thereafter, to the end of the world. Come, then, and 
be saved by God's Infinite Mercy, in the only way you can be saved ; and, 
you will then be able to see, that every attempt to reach heaven, in any 
other way, is only a robber, or thief, like attempt; and, you will then 
know, that into heaven, no thief, or robber, can break through, or into it, 
to steal, or enjoy, the treasures there in store, for God's willing servants. 
Oh ! people of Earth ! my heart yearns for you, and I would consider the 
sacrifice of a crucifixion, nothing, if it would save you. Far more than 
that, would any son of God, be willing to suffer, if, by that means, you 
could be saved. But, after all that, you would still be required, to save 
yourselves, by sacrificing your Free-Will. No man, or son of man, or son 
of God, can save his brother, by giving a ransom for his soul. No, the 
only thing that can be done, is to persuade you to save yourselves. Save 
yourselves, then, Oh! unhappy, unwise, oh! ignorant, proud, People. 
Save yourselves, all ye who are not perfectly happy. Those who are 
perfectly happy, which includes the realization, at the time, of every 
hope, or desire, or wish, or aspiration, those, I say, who are thus happy, 
are saved; and they are saved with an eternal salvation; and of their joy, 
and pleasure, thanksgiving, and glory, honor, and praise, there shall be no 
end. Because, they are sons of God; one with him, in power, will, and 
action. And, they can never fall from that perfect unity, and oneness, 
they have reached, by passing through all the circles, of all the spheres, 
from Paradise, to Sonship. Well, then, brethren and children, you have, 
on the one hand, ages of separation from God ; on the other, ineffable joy, 
and unending happiness. Choose ye, now, whether you will serve Baal, 
or God. On yourselves must rest the consequences; which will continue, 
for a long and indefinite period, in all their vast, and by man, immeasura- 
ble, consequences ; and, different as they are, not more different, is the 
old idea of heaven and hell; except, as it affected your notions, of the 
benevolence, justice, and mercy of God. 

§ 78. What then remains? I have called, and pleaded; I have per- 
suaded, and entreated ; I have argued, and pleaded, in God's name, in my 
own name, and in the name of suffering humanity. I will plead, and 
argue, in my medium's name. I will ask you, who have known him best, 
if he was ever the subject of religious excitement? If he was ever dis- 
posed to urge men to care for the future state ? If he was fond of the as- 
semblies of God's people ? or, fancied, people ? Has he been active in 
benevolence ? or, ardent in the cause of suffering men ? Has he been 
devoted, all his life, to others' good ? or, rather to himself, and his own 



83 

gratification? Has he led away the drunkard, from his cups? or, the 
fool, from the house of destruction ? Has he not rather taken care of him- 
self ? and left others to take care of themselves? Has he been an elegant 
writer? a pleasing, or an active, member of the social circle? Has he 
not rather been moody, and quiet? Has he not been reserved, and cau- 
tious, in his deportment ? tedious, and tiresome, in his wit ? Yet, out of 
this man, unpromising as he appeared, I have raised up one willing to do 
my work. Now, if I should sacrifice his business, reduce his family to 
beggary, and consign him to a dungeon, for an example of patience ; would 
you be edified ? I believe, he could bear it, though it would be a trial he 
would avoid. I believe, he would come out of the furnace, heated seven 
times hotter than it was wont to be, without the smell of fire upon his 
garments. But, I should not promote your salvation, by this course. I 
choose rather to show you by him, that business shall prosper, relatives be 
benefited, children be increased in beauty and intelligence, fellow men 
encouraged, and impelled to follow his example. I shall use him freely, 
and often. But, I intend to take care, that his temporalities do not suffer 
for your sins. That he will live, so as to use, without abusing, my favors, 
I believe. If he does not, he alone must suffer the condemnation. He 
has his Free-will; whenever he chooses to exercise it, he can. Think 
you he will use it ? Watch him and see. But if he does, only draw 
from that, this inference, That whatever favors God may bestow upon His 
children, in the body, they may be perverted to evil, and, however, a man 
may be made a partaker of His grace, in this life, he may withdraw him- 
self, and return like the dog to his vomit, or, be for a long and indefinite 
period, a castaway. The last state, of that man, shall be worse than the 
first; for, at first, ignorance was an excuse, but, at the last, the sin was 
against knowledge, and unpardonable. Again, then, let me persuade, and 
entreat, let me argue, and reason, that you should choose, for your own 
good, what will bring you peace here, and happiness hereafter. What 
will you give for these blessings? They cannot be bought, with money, 
or time. There is only one thing to be pawned, or exchanged, for them ; 
and that is, your Free-Will, commonly called in the Bible, your heart. 
Make this a willing sacrifice, on the altar of God's mercy, and you are 
saved. Saved as long as you make it, and if you choose to persevere, with 
an eternal salvation. Oh ! Son of Earth ! lay not aside this book, till you 
resolve to seek God, and, by praj'er, offer to him your heart. No matter 
how much you have sinned. No matter how high you stand in the out- 
ward church. Go down into your deepest self, and there, prostrate before 
God, make the prayer, I have delivered for you, in the Fourth Chapter 
of this book. When you can make that, with sincerity, and faith, in God, 
and with desires of acceptance with him, you are saved. When you can 
desire to make it thus, you are almost saved. A little more effort will 
then be sufficient. One more effort, one more getting down deep, into 
your inmost deep, will save you. May God help you, is my prayer, and 
that of the medium. But our prayers can do you no good. God is will- 
ing, already, and desirous, already, to help you, and he will do every- 
thing, but force your Free- Will, to bring you into reconciliation with 
him. 



84 



Let us pray. 

§ 79. Oh ! thou eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, and ever loving 
Father, and Friend ! Oh ! listen to the humble supplication of thy deeply 
desiring servant ; or, if not thy servant, oh ! God ! make me thy servant. 
Grant, oh ! most loving, and kind, and powerful Father, and Friend ! that 
I may have wisdom from thee to see, what way I should take ; to feel, 
what I ought to feel ; to love, what I ought to love. Be thou, oh ! most 
kind Parent! my helper, my savior, my intercessor, my redeemer, my 
friend. I know, oh! God! that thou art all these; but yet, oh! kind 
Parent ! make me feel its surety more. Let me know the peace that 
the world cannot give, or take away. Be thou, oh ! Father! my helper 
in this world's affairs ; and, my savior in spiritual matters. Oh ! God ! I 
desire to serve thee, and to do thy will. May it please thee to help me to 
do it. Help me, oh ! Father ! to walk as thou wouldst have me, and to 
pray acceptably to thee. Help me, oh ! God ! to say at all times, and un- 
der every dispensation ; when troubles surround me, and trials depress 
me ; then, oh ! God ! help me more, and more, till I can say, truly and 
sincerely, and with perfect reliance on thy goodness, and mercy, and 
loving kindness, all like thyself infinite ; to say then, oh ! Lord, God, 
Almighty ! not my will, but thine, oh ! Heavenly Father ! be done ! 
Amen. 

Oh ! God ! hear us for thy son's sake, for thy own sake, for our sake ; 
and, we will try, more, and more, to become thy servants, and to be 
worthy of thy kind regard. Oh ! God ! thou art good, make us good ; 
thou art loving, make us loving ; thou art happy, make us happy ; thou 
art ever merciful, and forgiving, make us so, we pray thee ; so that we 
may be like thee, and like thy son, the Lord Jesus Christ ; to whom, 
with thee, be all honor, glory, thanksgiving and praise, power, will and 
majesty, now and forever, world without end. Amen. 

Oh ! God ! let thy Holy Spirit be with us, and guide us, and help us, 
into salvation ; because, oh ! God ! thy Son has declared to us, thy great 
mercy, and loving kindness, we dare to ask, these favors, oh ! God ! of 
thine, otherwise, unapproachable majesty, and infinite nature. For thine 
is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, now and forever, from 
everlasting to everlasting, and so on to infinity, incomprehensible, and be- 
yond our natures to conceive of. Amen. 

§ 80. Almighty God ! who dost, from thy throne, behold all things, in 
the Earth below, and the heavens above, look down, in thine infinite mer- 
cy, upon thy would-be-humble servant. Grant unto me, the desires of 
my heart, so far as they are worthy, and proper to be granted, and fill 
me with love for thee, and help me, to be kind, and loving, and affection- 
ate, and to do thy will, and to walk in thy ways, in thy peace, and in quiet- 
ness, and obscurity, if such be thy will. And oh ! God ! be very kind, 
and loving, to me ; and preserve me, in the enjoyment of thy counsel, and 
guidance, in all things ; and keep me, and help me to keep myself, passive 
in thy hands, and in the hands of thy spirits ; so that I may work, in en- 
tire submission to thy will, and walk, always, in thy ways. And, to thee, 
6hall be the praise, honor, and glory, forever, and forever. Amen. 






85 

§ 81. This last prayer has been made, previous to this time, by my me- 
dium, in his own will ; and, when you can make such a prayer, in your 
own will, you will be a medium too. Be ye therefore ready, and willing, 
for ye know not in what hour, the Lord will come. Come he will. Have 
your lamps, then, trimmed, and lighted, for if you be gone for oil, when 
he comes, you will be ranked amongst the foolish virgins, or unwise men. 
Oh ! my People ! hear my voice, and listen to my call. I am the Son of 
God, and God sends me through this medium, to speak to you, to convince 
you, and to lead you to light and life, and eternal salvation. To the man 
sions of indescribable bliss, where joy, happiness, bliss, unutterable, un 
describable, and inconceivable, by men, fills every son, and daughter of man, 
every creature, and son of God ; and every soul that, in the universe of uni- 
verses, and the whole concentration of universes of universes, in the whole 
great, and illimitable, creation of God, is enjoying, or w r ill enjoy it, to the 
end of time, and in the beginning of the eternity that succeeds to the time, 
when all are Sons of God. Then, shall one universal shout of Joy, and 
Salvation, ring through the whole illimitable Creation. That, my friends, 
will be the last trump. Then eternity will commence, and it, of course, 
has no end. Neither will their bliss have any end. What God will then 
have in store for them, no man, no spirit, no Son, knows. God, himself, 
does not know, because he has not resolved to know. But, in due time, 
he will make his law, that is his will, known. Would you be the last 
one of all God's spirits to reach his throne, his Sonship ? No, you would 
not, I know, if you can help it. You can help it, if you will sacrifice 
your heart, your Free-Will. Let us pray, again, the prayer I have tran- 
scribed for you, from the Fourth Chapter and its additions. 

Let us now leave this part of our subject, to return, for a time, to the 
Chronological account of the Creation. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

THE DELUGE. 

The Relations of the Crust, or Surface, of the Earth. 

§ 82. The time, when the Earth assumed the globular form, was about 
the time Venus became a ring, about the central body. The central body 
emitted light, and heat, as it now does, and, as it had done from its first 
organization, as a globe. The Moon, was separated, about the time Mer- 
cury was formed into a ring, and at about the same time, Venus became a 
globe. About the time Mercury became a globe, the moon also became 
one, and the Solar system received its present appearance of develop- 
ment, except, that a moon has since been added to Jupiter, in place of a 
ring, and Saturn's rings have been separated, and the outer planets, have 
had some similar changes of rings, and moons. Now this may be regard- 
ed as mere invention of the medium, by some, and it would not require 



8G 

much to produce it, if the general lav; of development is admitted. I, 
however, give it, for such as can be gratified by the truth, respecting this 
subject; and shall extend my observations, somewhat further, on the 
same general principles of geology, and the formation of the crust of the 
Earth, and the production of the animal creation. There was a great 
contraction of the body, or matter of the Earth, after its first assumption 
of the globular form. But this was continued, for so long a period, that I 
will not undertake to write, the myriads of years, before the dry land ap- 
peared. The contraction was caused, or accomplished, rather, by the 
change of gases, to liquids, and of liquids, to solids. It is a great mistake 
to suppose, that the arrangement of matter into gaseous, fluid, and solid, 
has always existed. Comets are gaseous bodies, and represent the orig- 
inal, or early state of the sun, or central body, before concentratiou bad 
commenced. Next fluids appeared ; lastly, dry land, or solids. 

§ 83. The central portion, of the planetary bodies, is now gaseous, anJ 
the theory of Symmes, is not so far from the truth, as is generally sup- 
posed. It is, however, so far from the truth, as to be unfounded, by any 
hypothesis, which will explain its phenomena. I shall give a hypothesis, 
but it will not confirm his main points, which were, the openings through 
the crust of the Earth. The openings, could not exist; because, the 
shell would contract to close them ; and, if they existed, disruption of a 
ring could not take place, because the internal resistance would not be suf- 
ficient, to maintain the position of the crust outwardly. 

§ 84. Well then, the crust being formed first of gas, secondly of fluid, 
and thirdly of solid matter, thickens and hardens, becoming more and 
more solid, till its thickness is so great, as to prevent a further contraction. 
Before this time, the inequalities of surface, are produced by crushings, 
by contractions, forcing up ridges, or forcing inwardly hollows ; on the 
outside, on the contrary, hollows represent inward ridges, or uprisings, as 
men in the body term them. When the contraction can no longer pro- 
ceed in this way, the preparations for the removal of the crust com- 
mence by a course of separation, proceeding within the outer crust. 
The internal matter, continues to contract, leaving the outer sustaining it- 
self by its own strength. When the inner surface, has become sufficient- 
ly reduced in size, to furnish a strong shell, its contractions again begin to 
cast up ridges, and make valleys. In the valleys, the fluids rest ; above 
the whole, the gaseous particles, that have escaped from within, float, or 
adhere, to the more solid, and fluid, surface. Then the solid outer crust, 
is liable to, and soon receives, such further contraction, as ruptures it into 
rings. These rings may conglomerate, or slide into each other, and re- 
main separate, for some will be smaller than others. The polar portions 
of the old surface, or outer crust, fall to the inner crust, because they have 
no centrifugal force, to maintain them at a distance. The more central 
zones, or equatorial regions, become, more, and more, accelerated in 
speed, by being relieved from the polar parts. Then, the acceleration of 
rotatory motion proceeding, the crust, or ring, as it has now become, be- 
comes more attenuated, and enlarges its circumference, till the motion, 
that has resulted from all these proceedings, is precisely such as will 
cause, an equality of centrifugal, and centripetal, force, at the distance, to 



87 

which the body had arrived, when the equalization took place. Then the 
body, or ring, continues to revolve, or rotate, about the central body, till 
an inequality of thickness becomes developed, by the contraction of its 
matter, which still goes on, and the thicker portions, drawing by more co- 
hesive, and contractive, force, finally make a rupture, or parting, of the 
ring. Then, as I have before related, the ring begins to double inwardly, 
till it winds up, as it were, like a cord, into a ball, or globe. This globe is 
more solid than that from which it separated. But it is not solid. Again 
the contraction, and the disruption, proceeds with the first body, and the 
satellite also proceeds in the same manner. 

§ 85. But the satellite is more nearly solid and can scarcely again 
throw off a ring. There is however such an instance in one of Saturn's 
moons, where a satellite has been formed from a moon, or satellite, and it 
now exists in the form of a ring. It is the third moon from the central 
body, that has this unique, in this system, attendant. How then did the 
Ark save Noah, when the Moon separated from the Earth ? I will ex- 
plain. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

EARLY HISTORY. 

History of the Earth, and its Inhabitants, after the Deluge. 

§ 86. The time for the disruption having arrived, and the Ark being 
prepared, by the Medium, Noah, in exact conformity to direction of the 
Divine Influx, the windows of heaven were opened. God's mercy was 
displayed, to men of that generation, by signs of warning, for forty days 
and forty nights. Terrible to them, were the convulsions of nature. The 
Earth rocked violently, almost continually. The waters rushed, violently, 
over the dry land. The mountains fell, the lakes dried up. The whole 
of the race of men, then, and thus, perished, except Noah, and those 
whom he had received into the Ark. Noah, was a young man, and his 
family consisted of only three sons, and as many daughters. A small 
number, for the long lived, and prolific antediluvians. The Ark, had been 
navigated by Noah, under God's direction, to the Polar regions, where its 
safety was secured, by the law of which I have informed you. These 
polar regions, reached the under crust of the earth, without any serious 
shock; but the effect, necessarily, was, that the Earth began to change its 
axis of rotation, and thus, the one pole, became the central table land of 
Asia, and the other, the table land of Mexico, and Central America. 
This change, though gradual, was sudden enough to imbed, in ice, the 
carcases of tropical animals, in the now frozen regions of Siberia, former- 
ly, the tropical, or equatorial, portion of the inner crust. But how came 
the tropical animals there, if the outer crust passed off, in those regions, 
and became the Moon ? The outer solid part, only, left. The gaseous, 



88 

and fluid, parts, descended to the central body, by the attraction of gravi- 
tation, and with them, the dead bodies of men, and animals. But the 
dead bodies of men, have not been found with the bodies of animals, in 
Siberia ! They have not, but they may be, and will be, before long. For 
it is only of late, that the bodies of the animals were found there. Noah, 
now being safely landed upon the renewed, or inner crust of the Earth, 
left the Ark, when he found the commotions had subsided. But why did 
he not receive the counsel of God, as to the time, when he should leave ? 
He did act by God's direction, to the end of his life. And, it was only 
because God, does not choose to have a man cease to act for himself, or in 
reliance upon, and by the aid of, his own powers, that He insists on his 
doing it. It is, in this, that a medium's submission, is most fully shown, a 
willingness to serve God, and obey His revealed will ; and, also a resolution 
to work for himself, without requiring God to be his servant, because he 
has rendered God obedience. 

§ 87. Noah, then found a countiy, not materially different from the 
former surface of the Earth, because it was, in fact, a part of it. But 
this old surface, was found to be less fertile than the new, under the 
changed condition of the atmosphere. He therefore soon sought, under 
God's direction, a more fertile region, which he found Eastward, in what 
is now called China, and what was then, the Western coast of a continent 
which reached over the greater part of the Pacific ocean, as its place is 
now called. But then the rivers in China run Eastwardly, and how could, 
they do that, if it were the Western coast. The change of elevation of 
surface, that took place under the laws of contracting crusts, submerged 
the great continent of the then Asia, and raised the space, between that, 
and the central table land, on which the Ark had rested. This made the 
water shed itself, in the opposite direction in China; and, in their history, 
fabulous though it is called by learned Europeans, is found a record, of 
this extraordinary, and unlooked for, change, and of the devastation, and 
destruction of human life, which it caused. Wonderful as it was, and 
unheard of as it is, to the present generation, these changes were not 
unfrequent, in the early ages, after the disruption of the Moon's ring. 
But now, the hundreds of thousands of years, have so established the 
crust, that it no longer changes much, or violently. Slow, and gradual 
uprisings, and depressions, of surface, take place, and have been observed, 
and recorded. The last great submersion, was that of the continent, or 
great island, of Atlantis, which took place, about ten thousand years ago; 
and, of which a distinct tradition has been preserved, both in the records 
of the Eastern, and of the Western Continent. The one by the Pheni- 
cians, and Greeks; the other, by the Mexicans, and Peruvians; and, also, 
by the aborigines of Cuba, Hispaniola, and other West India islands. Sud- 
den, as it was, a few escaped to tell the tale ; and its remains of surface, 
exist in Teneriffe, and St. Helena, and a few other small islands. The 
great ancient Asian continent, left the numerous islands of the Pacific, 
and the Continent, or great island, of New Holland. In the past history 
of the surface of the Earth, many such changes, involving vast destruction 
of life, and obliteration of ancient records, and monuments, occurred. 
Nations perished, like individuals. But these nations, people, and histo- 



89 

lies, have no interest for you, who have never heard of them. Let us 
return to China, the oldest, the primeval nation of the Earth. 

§ 88. Noah, lived 600 years after the flood; and, at his death, saw an 
empire, or nation, of many millions of happy descendants. His sons ruled 
provinces, or divisions, of the nation, or race, and Shem succeeded him, 
oy Divine appointment. Shem lived for several hundred years after his 
father's death; dying, aged above a thousand years. But why was no 
record preserved of this life, longer than Methusaleh's ! Because, the 
tradition was lost, before writing was invented. Who succeeded Shem? 
The names of his sons, given in the Bible, have reference to nations, and 
to colonies, and not to persons. But the Jews, and before them the Egyp- 
tians, delighted to trace their genealogies to the utmost extent, and would 
not be satisfied, without reaching back to Noah. They chose Shem's 
line of descent for themselves; and, that was true enough, but Abraham, 
the son of the tribe, or race, of Terah, was an obscure man in his native 
Chaldea. He, however, by obeying God, became the founder of a great 
nation, and his chronology, becomes nearly correct, in the Bible. Then 
his sons, and grandsons, are traced with fair correctness, to Moses, and 
Joshua, and so on, down to Solomon, and the Captivity. Yet, not with 
entire correctness, for these records were all lost at the time of the Baby- 
lonian Captivity, and restored, from the memories of the chief men of the 
nation, by Ezra. The Egyptians, had records, besides those upon their 
monuments. On the monuments, but little was recorded, other than gen- 
ealogies. The people, could read the sacred writing, as well as the 
priests, in an early day; and, long before they lost that ability, the scheme, 
for withholding from them the. recorded knowledge of the past, was con- 
cocted. Copies of these records of Egyptian tradition, and History, exist, 
as I have stated, but when found they will not tell much more than this. 

§ 89. Egypt, was settled in early time, but inundations, and physical 
revolutions, destroyed its population, so that its commencement of history, 
as a nation, commenced about twenty thousand years before Christ came 
in Jesus of Nazareth. Many, and various, tribes, at first formed the pop- 
ulation; derived from India, and Assyria. At last, Menes united them all 
under one government, and left the nation, strong, and powerful. His 
successors attempted foreign conquests; but, with few exceptions, with 
poor success. At home, though they maintained their independence, and 
extended their empire by population and wealth, they, also, by marriages, 
acquired kingdoms in Africa, which their superior civilization, and careful, 
and discreet, policy, enabled them to maintain for a long period. They 
were at last conquered, by a race of Shepherds, or Nomades, whose 
original home, or at least their home for generations, was Scythia, or as 
it is now called Siberia. These Ycthos, or as more generally written 
Hycshos, were a marauding colony, like those Kimbri, and Kelts, and 
Germans, that made such inroads into Southern Europe, in after ages ; 
though, they never obtained such complete possesssion, of the countries 
they invaded, since history commenced its records. Before that, though, 
their ravages had been more powerful, and destructive. The Pelasgians, 
were Scythian tribes, or emigrants. The Tuetonic nations, also trace 
their origin to Siberia, faintly, but correctly. The Ycthos, maintained 



90 

their supremacy in Egypt, for more than a hundred years; about as long 
as the Vandals retained Northern Africa, in the decline of the Roman Em- 
pire. The people of Egypt, then rose, as one man, at a given signal, and 
put to death, every hated oppressor, and made their memory accursed 
forever. The very name of shepherd, was such an offence to Egyptians, 
that Moses led his followers away from Egypt, almost without opposition, 
because they were, in general, shepherds. 

§ 90. But, you say, Moses was opposed by Pharoah ; and, at last, fol- 
lowed with an army, from which his followers only were saved, by a 
miracle ! No, my friend ; Moses, was opposed by court intrigues. His 
claims to the throne, had been set aside most unjustly. The enemies of 
his claims, feared he might wish, to turn the strength of his followers, 
against the nation ; and, endeavor to obtain by force, what he had been 
wrongfully deprived of, for the reason before given. Moses, therefore 
threatened, and negotiated, till he, at last, extorted from Pharoah, a 
reluctant consent. But, Pharoah felt the necessity of watching the move- 
ments of Moses, and his followers, which he did with his whole army. 
And Pharoah lost that army, by imprudently attempting to follow Moses, 
and the Israelites, as they called themselves, in their march across the 
head of the Red sea. But the account, as recorded, is somewhat dis- 
torted. Its general features are true, however; and by making some 
allowance, for the exaggeration of rewriting them in Ezra's time, we 
shall easily reconcile it, with an intention to give the truth. I have al- 
ready alluded sufficiently to the wars of the Canaanites, and the wander- 
ings in the wilderness. I will only state, that the account of Eden being 
Eastward, in the book of Genesis, is a transcription from a Chinese record, 
that had been translated to Egypt, and adopted as a literal one, in their 
theology. In that, the change was made, from Westward, to Eastward, for 
Eden's locality, so as to suit the longitude of the place. 



CHAPTEK XIV. 

LATER HISTORY. 
Origin, and History, of Commercial Nations. 

§ 91. There is another History of a nation to be written, in which you 
will feel an interest. That is, the History of the Phenicians. The 
Egyptians, were a people similar to the Chinese, in their institutions 
They were separated into castes, and each followed his father's trade, or 
profession. They were quiet, unresisting, unenterprising, indisposed to 
roam. They had no ships in early days, and the fables of Grecian settle 
ment from Egypt, had no foundation in reality. Phenicia, was the great 
commercial nation of the olden time; or, rather, for the ten thousand 
years preceding the Christian era. Their power was broken by the 
Assyrians, and their commerce ruined by the Greeks. They commenced 



91 

their settlements on the Levant, by immigrating from Arabia, and southern 
India. They extended their power, over Spain, Italy, Sicily, Northern 
Africa; and, in their earliest voyages, reached the ancient Continent, or 
great island, of Atlantis, where they had settlements, or colonies, or 
trading posts. The inhabitants of Atlantis, were a kindred people ; but 
had left the original seat of the race, or tribe, at a much earlier period. 
From thence, they proceeded by sea, to the British Islands, to Denmark, 
Norway, and even to Iceland. From Iceland, they found a way to reach 
America; though its productions in those northern regions, had small 
value for them. The gold of Ophir, was obtained from the interior of 
Africa, which is the richest in its production, of all countries. The mouths 
of rivers, along, and below, the Gulf of Guinea, supplied them; by the 
commercial tastes of the African nations, inducing them, to resort to them, 
for the purpose of obtaining the articles the Phenicians sold. 

§ 92. But, did not other nations, share in this lucrative commerce ! 
None did, after the submersion of Atlantis, till Solomon persuaded Hiram, 
of Tyre, to allow his ships to accompany the annual fleet, that left the 
Phenician ports, and rendezvoused at Sicily. Their voyages were perform- 
ed by coasting, and some few bold departures, on known short cuts, per- 
formed under favorable circumstances. Three years, were usually occu- 
pied in going, trading, and returning. But did not Solomon have his ships 
on the Red Sea ! He did make a port at Ezion Geber ; but, that was as a 
compensation to Hiram, for the great privilege, of being allowed to join 
the Phenician fleet, in its voyage for gold. The Phenicians used Ezion 
Geber, far more than the Jews ; and, it was at that port, they did busi- 
ness, or had commerce, with India. Before that, their supplies of Indian 
goods, had been obtained from ports on the Persian gulf, which the Assy- 
rians oppressed ; and from which, the land transportation, was much 
more, than from Ezion Geber. 

§ 93. The laws, and language, of Phenicia, have nearly perished. 
Their History, entirely so, to men in the body; except, as it is connected, 
during its latter time, with the Jews, and Greeks. The Greeks, them- 
selves, were the posterity of Phenician colonies, united with Pelasgian 
conquerors. These again, were further mixed with other tribes, arriving 
from the Black sea; or, from what is now called Circassia, and Georgia. 
A district, which has long possessed the fairest, and noblest, physical 
specimens of man ; and, from which, too, the Saxons were derived. 

§ 94. The Saxons were not Germans, nor Scandinavians, but Georgians. 
They left their original, or for long time, residence, in the year of Alex- 
anders invasion of Persia, and marched, or travelled, by slow stages, and 
circuitous routes, till they reached the Baltic at Riga. There they long 
maintained themselves, but new immigrations taking place, they were 
forced to fly from that country, and a small remnant of the bravest, took 
possession of, and maintained themselves in, the peninsula of Jutland, the 
neighboring islands, and the almost impenetrable marshes of the neighbor- 
ing continent. Here, they arrived about one hundred and fifty years, 
after the Christian era ; and there, they remained, as their principal seat 
of power, till they had by a long and persevering contest, obtained pos- 
session of England, and the greater part of Scotland, 



92 

§ 95. The remainder of their History, is well known, to men in the 
body ; but, that they are to be the ruling, and controlling, nation, in 
coming generations, is just surmised, by a few ardent imaginations, who 
look upon British power, as the manifestation of its developement. They 
are not far wrong. But it is to America, we look, as the future seat of 
their power; for even England must fall, before the combined power of 
the Dragon of Rome, and the False Prophet of Europe. But, the 
Woman that fled to the Wilderness, and was sustained by the two wings 
of a great eagle, shall receive her progenitors, and sustain the power of 
the Saxon nation, in all its splendor, till the Fifth monarchy shall be 
merged, in a universal brotherhood of all mankind, under the government 
of Shiloh, the Prince of Peace. But to return from this digression, let 
us briefly sketch, the Laws, and Government, of the Phenicians. 

§ 96. Their state, or nation, w r as composed of a considerable number 
of independent cities, under respective heads, comparable to kings, but 
not possessing absolute power. They ruled through, or with, the assist- 
ance of a representative body, appointed by the people at large. There 
was a federation, but its weakness cost them, their existence as a nation, 
when the Assyrian power became established, and aggressive. One, by 
one, the small states were reduced, till only Tyre remained. The colo- 
nies, had never depended much upon the mother cities, for government, 
and their most powerful one, Carthage, was only an ally. As is well 
known, they, were not unwilling to be left without the rivalry of Tyre; 
and, they always had some excuse, in the time of her greatest need, for 
refusing help. Troj 7 , was one of the small Phenician states, and was 
destroyed by the Greeks, who even then, began to prey upon the Phe- 
nician commerce. The length of the siege, and the cause given for the 
war, in the Iliad, are imaginary ; but it was a contest, that called forth 
the whole power, and resources of the Greek states, which also had, like 
the Phenicians, and as derived from that ancestral branch, a confederacy, 
weak, it is true, but strong, when all felt a common interest, or desire, to 
obtain a particular object. So, Troy fell, a thousand years before Tyre. 

§ 97. The religion of the Phenicians, was a mixture of all that their 
commerce made them acquainted with. Its purity was maintained, in 
their previous land of residence; but, they adopted whatever would make 
them more agreeable, to the people with whom they traded ; and, from 
them, derived human sacrifices, and fire worship. They introduced fire 
worship into Asia, having derived it from Africa. Zoroaster was a Phe- 
nician ; and, his works, and preachings, converted the Persians from truth, 
to error respecting the origin of Evil, and the worship of Fire, the Sun, 
and Idols. They still believed in God, the Maker, and Preserver, of all 
things. But their recognition of him, became less, and less, as time pro- 
gressed, and the priesthood declined in learning. At last, only the 
outward form was left of this religion ; and, at the coming of Jesus of 
Nazareth, as the Messiah, the knowledge of the One True God, was 
confined to the single nation, insignificant, and contemptible, of Jews. 

§ 98. Every nation that knew them, despised them. Their own dis- 
sensions, weakened them, and they were the prey of every invader, 
whether he marched to, or from, Assyria, or Egypt. Living in a defensi- 



ble country, they seldom resisted. Their spirit was broken by defeat, 
and their power by dissension. Some adhered to an Egyptian party, 
some to an Assyrian. Some would trust to Phenician alliance, others 
desired to call in the Greeks. The prophets urged them to trust in the 
God they professed to serve and to own for King of Kings, but their faith 
was too weak, and their History, with the brief interval, of the reign of 
David, and the sway of Solomon, was a series of disasters, following a 
series of predictions of success if they would have submitted passively to 
their God ; whom their prophets, or mediums, always had communion 
with, through his Holy Spirits. There was, at last, a cessation, under 
the Grecian Syrian monarchy, of the almost constant devastation they 
had experienced, and the successors of Alexander, respected liis grant of 
a nominal independence. The Romans, in the beginning of their domin- 
ion, were disposed to treat the Jews, like other conquered nations ; with- 
out any other rigor, than what was necessary to secure their plunder, under 
the name of taxes ; but the Jews were so insolent, and haughty, and 
pugnacious, that their destruction as a nation, became, to the Roman view, 
a necessity. From this impending event, the Christians fled ; and, warned 
by their mediums, or prophets, secured safe refuge, in various parts of 
the world. This event, was thus overruled, to be the means of greatly 
aiding the spread of Christianity, which was thus preached, to every na- 
tion, tongue, and people, of the Western portion of the Eastern continent. 
Paul, was in Rome, a prisoner for three years; and he there made con- 
verts, amongst the noblest of the Romans ; and, their influence, exerted 
itself, to prevent a persecution of them, as well as of Jews, which was 
at one time threatened, by Titus and Vespasian. 



CHAPTEE XT. 

IMPENDING CHANGE. < 

Changes of the Earth's surface ; Past, and Future. 

§ 99. When the World was in its primeval form of a Ring, the solid 
part was accompanied by fluid and gas, because the Central body, had 
retired by contraction, to so great a distance from the outer crust, that its 
attraction, was less than that of the ring, or Earth, itself. But for this, 
the Earth, like the Moon, would have had no atmosphere, or fluid. 

The Moon, however, has such a gas surrounding it, as suffices for the 
maintenance of life, in organized beings. They are not, however, like to 
any in the Earth, and I shall not weaken your faith, by describing them ; 
particularly, as it is not, properly, within the limits of my title page. 

The Earth, then, having rolled up like a ball, retained, at first, sufficient 
tenacity, and glutinosity, to be moulded into spherical form, by the laws 
of motion, and centrifugal force. Its center, was left hollow, as far as 
solids were concerned, and retained most of the fluids, which had acccm- 



94 

panied it. But, the contraction going on, the glutinous matter, which was 
its solid portion, soon began to separate itself, into an outer, and innei 
crust. It was, however, as yet, too unconsolidated, to maintain its outer 
crust far enough from the inner, to form a ring, that would separate into 
an orbit of its own. Its whole material, fell back, as it were, upon the 
inner crust. It was by this process, that the moon became large in pro- 
portion to the Earth. 

§ 100. It was also, this process which caused the great changes of sur- 
face, I have alluded to in speaking of the submersion of continents. But 
this did not continue so long this time, as before ; nor, so extensively. 
From this, will result a smaller moon, at the next separation, which as I 
before stated, will take place soon ; that is, in a few thousand years. 
This second moon, will be, at first, a ring; and, at last, a globe, about half 
as far from the Earth, as the present moon. But, before this disruption 
occurs, we hope to be able to convert all the men of Earth, to a know- 
ledge of their Creator ; and, an understanding of his Laws of Being, 
Action towards Men, and Salvation of Men, and Spirits. But, we do 
not know that we shall be able to do it. Because, Man has, and will 
have, his Free-will. We shall ask, then, that every believer of the truth, 
shall work in submission to God ; and, passively, by His direction, to ex- 
tend this knowledge, and secure this conversion. The outward signs, of 
our presence, will cease very soon. But we shall ever be ready, and 
willing, and desirous, to work spiritually, internally, and by Divine Influx. 
The way to men's hearts, is always open to this proceeding, if they con- 
sent. If they are willing, we work. If they are passive, God rules. If 
they are passive, God rules in them, and acts through them, on other 
men. Who, will come up to the help of the Living God ? Who, will 
be on his side, in the coming, the already commenced, contest, between 
Him, and Man's Free-will? Choose ye now, whether you will serve 
God, or the world ; God, or man ; God, or your own Free-will. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

AJfTEDILrTlA^ HISTORY. 

History of Antediluvian Life, Upon the Earth. 

| 101. When the Earth had assumed its globular form, and had become 
the residence of Man, animals, had existed upon it, for hundreds of thou- 
sands of years. First, fish were the inhabitants; slightly above vegeta- 
bles. Gradually, the highest form of animal life rose in the scale of 
creation, by the developement of the law, that spoke the Earth, and the 
whole universe of universes into being. When quadrupeds existed, Man's 
type, the monkey tribe, appeared. But monkeys lacked the living soul. 
The spirit from Paradise did not enter their bodies. They were like the 
other animals, and like the monkeys of the present day, mere animals, 



95 

mere sentient existences. But they were not without some kind of in 
telligence, any more than the higher animals of the present day. They 
had reasoning powers, though limited. They could form governments, 
and establish laws. But their laws were simple, scarcely extending be- 
yond the limits of personality. Property, was only recognized, when in 
possession ; and personal rights, were not more than the right to roam 
unmolested. But, there was a sentiment of justice, instilled into their 
being, which stood in the place of many laws; and the establishment of 
government is easy, when beings are already under the control of justice. 
These animals were somewhat superior, to the highest of the present 
relative tribes, or races, as men call them. They even assembled in 
large communities, and erected huts, in a kind of orderly arrangement. 

§ 102. But, long before men appeared, these animals had subdued the 
earth's surface to orderly cultivation, in large districts, and preserved its 
security and peace, by the destruction of the animals, that would have, 
by their abundance, injured the harvests, or their domestic animals. For 
the various useful, or domestic animals, were trained into subjection, by 
this race of superior animals, which had thus prepared the Earth for 
Man's residence. For Man is helpless, nearly, without the aid of ani- 
mals. He may be savage, but can scarcely be a civilized, a refined, or 
intellectual man, without their services being subjected to his wants, and 
desires, and whims. The monkey, or baboon race, then existing, having 
reached its highest development, Man appeared, by the development 
of the same law of progress, which had so carried forward matter, as to 
make his presence a want, or necessity, to its perfection and beauty. 
Man appeared first, as a few individuals, of a lower form than at present. 
That is, by lower, I mean, more animal, sensual, gross. This primitive 
man was larger, stronger, and longer lived, as I have before intimated. 
But the first creation, or appearance, of man, was by an act of matter: 
or, else, it was by an act of Deity, or of his Word. By his Word, all 
things were made. So, by it, Man was made. 

§ 103. Can you understand the process by which matter assumed form 
and being, and sentiency, as an organized body, prepared for the reception 
of an immortal emanation from God? I fear not. My medium found 
what I have before written, to be, in some parts, too high for him ; and 
wisely left it behind, in reading the book, as above his comprehension. 
Not that he despaired of understanding it, but that he resolved to take 
time to compare, and weigh, and resolve, and combine, and study, and 
ponder, that he might understand it thoroughly. This you must do, oh, 
learned man, if you would fully appreciate, and understand, my next 
Chapter. 



96 
CHAPTEE XYIL 

DEVELOPMENT OF MATT. 

History of Man's Formation, and Improvement ; from the Beginnings to 
the Present Time. 

§ 104. Man, being prepared by the Word, in the course of creation, or, 
development, was found in the bowels, or matrix, of a pure specimen of 
the highest order of animals that preceded him. He was then, very sim- 
ilar in form, whatever he Was in interiors, to the lower animal. But, his 
mother having been selected with particular regard for the event, or cir- 
cumstance ; and the mother of that mother, having, also, been so selected* 
the possibility of improvement, is evident enough to human reason. But 
the father, was also selected, as well as the mother. For, by two consecu- 
tive proceedings, on the part of the Word, the two mothers, were induced 
to conceive an embryo, without an animal congress. The result, was a 
being highly developed, the admiration of its mother, and of all the animal 
race. How, you say, can such a result be possible ? and does not this 
show, that Jesus was not the only begotten son of God 1 I will explain 
this, by calling to your recollection, that women in the present day, do> 
often, so conceive an embryo. Virgins, of unspotted, and unsuspected, and 
real, virtue and purity, have borne them. To be sure, they do not come 
to maturity, are seldom expelled, are more often outside of the uterus 
when found. But the fact is well known, that hydatids often occur in 
pure minded women, who have had no sexual congress. Then, all that is 
wanting is to have sentiency impressed upon, or imbued into, the body 
thus formed, and it would progress to maturity. This the Word does, 
and the Word also disposes the constitution of the animal, or woman, to 
a state in which the hydatid must inevitably be found, and provides that it 
shall occur, at such a time, as will ensure its safe progress to the uterus. 
For, it will always make such safe progress, if it occur at the period of the 
monthly return, or catamenia. But, if at any other period, than within 
forty-eight hours of that cessation, it will not pass into the uterus. Then 
what is the reason more do not occur in this way ! First, the chances 
are as twelve to fifteen, opposed to one, that it does not occur at, that time. 
Second, there is the further chance, very much against it, that it will 
pass off, as a foreign body, at, or before, the next return. 

§ 105. How, then, is this different from the conception of the Virgin 
mother, of Jesus of Nazareth? She was also operated on by the Word. 
For, by the Word all things were made ; and, therefore, the only begotten 
Son of God, must have also been made by the Word. But in this case, 
the Word, himself, took flesh. That is, became the soul, or sentient 
portion, of the infant born to Mary. How, then, do we understand you, 
when you say, that the Spirit, or Soul, of Jesus, was selected for that 
particularly prepared body, because its desire in Paradise had been to do 
good ? will be asked by many attentive readers, my medium included. It 



97 

was by the Word, that the Spirit was selected, and the Word, also joined 
itself to the spirit, by an intimate, pairital, union, such as exists in Para- 
dise, regularly, and invariably, with all spirits; but, which is generally 
dissolved, before leaving that state, by the law of progress, that leads the 
spirits to want to leave that place and situation of existence. It was then 
the Word, and a Spirit of man from Paradise, like other souls of men, 
except that its motive was to do good, that formed the interior of Jesus 
of Nazareth ! It was. The Word took flesh, and we beheld his glory, 
as of the only begotten son of God. Is not this plain now? You thought 
you understood it after the explanation in the First Book, but now you 
see a higher meaning. There is, a yet higher meaning, which I cannot yet 
make you understand. So we will leave the subject, and return to men's 
origin, or commencement of existence on the Earth. 

§ 106. The body, being thus prepared for the first Adam, or man's 
spirit, from Paradise, the Adam, or soul, entered it, in the usual way, at 
its first inspiration. Animals do not cry out at the first breath. Men do. 
What is it then, but the soul's entrance, that causes the manifestation of 
pain? Nothing, but that, can account for it, though nurses and physicians 
have thought they knew the reason to be the pain the air gave the lungs. 
But, if that were the reason, it would produce the same effect with all 
animals, born in a similar manner. 

There was then, one man. But, I said there were several individuals at 
first. This process was simultaneously carried on, in several cases. Some 
ten, or more, were selected for the first part of the process. Their hydatids 
matured, and were monkeys; to give them a name you are familiar with, 
and it expresses the idea of their nature. They were monkeys, superior 
to their fellows; and chosen for their superiority, to be the rulers of large 
bodies, or communities. From these ten or more, two were selected, 
who bore the bodies, called, or referred to, under the names of Adam and 
Eve, in the traditions of that event. These, were so decidedly superior 
to all other inhabitants of Earth, that all the race previously or then exist- 
ing, submitted willingly to their authority, and thus, all the beasts of the 
field, and fowls of the air, as it were, submitted to Adam, by the submission 
of their masters, the monkeys, or primary animal. Thus man appeared: 
or, as it may be called, thus was he created. But the Man of the Ante- 
diluvian world, was a very different being from the present Man, as I have 
before intimated. He was larger, stronger, and more sensual. He was 
also six fingered, and six toed, and bull necked, as the human neck resem- 
bling theirs is now termed. He had a tail; and, it was the apparitions of be- 
ings of antediluvian birth, that caused the popular notion, of the appearance 
of evil spirits with tails. He also had horns; short, and strait, proceeding 
from his forehead. These grosser, and more animal parts, gradually less- 
ened in development, till near the Deluge. Then, Noah, was again pro- 
duced by a hydatid, from a selected mother, as was his wife also. This 
pair, then, commenced a new era in the history, and in the form of men. 
As before, their superior appearance, caused them to be promoted to sover- 
eign authority, over the great mass of a powerful nation ; whose sway 
was almost universal, and their power, and commerce, universally ex- 
tended. 

13 



98 

Here we close this branch of our History, merely saying, that analogy 
will properly teach man, that, as he originated, the lower orders of being, 
descending even to vegetable, and mineral, were originated. As he origi- 
nated, so a higher developed body may, and he may infer, probably will 
originate. And the same analogy, will lead him to infer, that the various 
races on the Earth, have been found, one, after another, beginning with 
the lowest. That there have been successive developments by hydatids, 
from lowest of the negro, or still lower New Holland race, to the highest 
Circassian, or Saxon, type. Analogy, too, will teach him, that a greater 
change of form will occur, when a pair shall be got ready for the next 
crust of the Earth; which, will be, when the Second Moon is disrupted, 
when the present, or then present, inhabitants, must perish from their 
bodily existence, by another confusion of the elements like the Deluge. 

§ 107. But, has not God set his bow in the heavens, as a sign that the 
world shall not again be destroyed by water ! He has. But though the 
confusion of elements will be similar, the outer crust of the Earth is now 
so much farther removed, and so much thinner, that the confusion will be 
less; and, there will be large numbers of men, left on the ring, which will 
continue to be inhabited by them. The Polar regions, as before, will fall, 
or be attracted, to the central portion ; and, again the axial rotation will be 
changed. The newly formed race w 11 people that body ; and they, and 
the present race in their new satellite, will be subject to many great and 
destructive operations, by the changes their respective habitations will 
necessarily undergo in assuming, the one, a spherical, and the other, an 
equalized form, and a solid crust. 

Then let us return to the History of the Spiritual Influx, as manifested 
in the establishment of religion, in the Earth. 



CHAPTEE XYIII. 

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT. 

Rewards of Spiritually Minded Men, by their Progress. 

§ 108. Man, at first, had no religious notions, other than such as were 
common to the lower animals. But Noah, was Divinely inspired, and en- 
deavored to awaken in them, a desire for Spiritual progress. He did not 
succeed, in turning a single one of all the race, to a surrender of his will 
to God. But, when he taught his descendants, he warned them, by the 
fate of their predecessors on the Earth, to be attentive to the Divine Influx. 
And for thousands of years they were. For many ten thousands of years, 
they obeyed the warnings, and submitted to the directions, of God's spirits: 
transmitted through the various mediums, who were trained for that pur- 
pose. They, too, were individually attentive to the Divine Influx or Word 
within themselves. But yet, their disobedience, and want of submission, 
was so great, that none of them made rapid advancement in the Spirit 



99 

world, or existence. How is it that they were so obedient, and yet so 
disobedient ! They were obedient to the mediums, but not to their own 
receptions. It is the latter, that effects the salvation of the soul. Then 
mediums ought certainly to make rapid progress in the next state! Not 
of course. Because, a medium may be used, without his being passive. 
He may be passive to reception, without being submissive in action. 

§ 109. The last is the state of my present medium. He receives pas- 
sively, and he reserves his action, till I withdraw. Then he acts in his 
own will. But do you not require this kind of action ! Do you not say 
that mediums should act for themselves, and not leave their whole efforts 
to God ! No. I say, mediums should desire to submit their actions to 
God's will ; and, that, to be perfect, they should have no will of their own. 
But this would raise them to the Sixth sphere ! Not quite yet, my reader. 
Their will must be passive, then they receive correctly. Their actions 
must be in accordance with what they receive. Then they are submissive 
in action. Because they are told they may do a thing once, they are not 
to suppose they may do it again, or all the time. Because, once they have 
resisted without evil results, they are not to suppose they may continue to 
be resisting. No, submission comprises not merely the surrender of the 
will, but a seeking for direction, in order that it may be obeyed, or followed. 
Then God will direct, and the medium can act in the will of the Fourth 
sphere, which is the highest to which man in the body can arrive. What 
then do I lack ? all these have I kept from my youth upwards ! Sell that 
thou hast, give to the poor, and follow me. This was the answer; this 
is the answer, to all, who think they have done any thing. But does this 
mean that you are to work no longer? That you are to sacrifice your 
property, your business, your family, yourself, and to wander about an 
object of charity? Oh, no. It means spiritually, you should have no- 
thing. No will, no power, no action, except as you are directed to have 
them. That you should part with every thing, that you suppose yourself 
to be the spiritual possessor of, so that you can offer your mind, or soul, as a 
pure tablet, unwritten upon ; so that God may write thereon, what may 
best please himself; and, that you should ever be ready to dispense spirit- 
ual bounties, to those who need them ; and, that you should not only do 
this, but that you should do as Jesus did. He sacrificed himself fully. 
He gave himself a ransom for many, for he sacrificed his time, his com- 
forts, and enjoyments of the home circle, in order that he might preach, 
and warn, and persuade, and threaten, the sinner, or the ignorant teacher, 
or professor. When, then, shall you begin to prepare for this progress ? 
If you do not begin now, you cannot progress as fast as you may. " Time 
once past never returns." Let the past take care of itself. Let the dead 
bury their dead ; do you press forward to life eternal. If you do not 
begin now, you may make no beginning in the body. You may do worse, 
you may retrograde. Begin then, now, whilst you feel some inclination, 
whilst you can perceive, and I do perceive, in your heart or mind some 
inclination to do so. Begin, and I will help you. Begin by making the 
prayer I gave you in the Fourth chapter, and progress to make it with the 
additions in the Eleventh Chapter, page 84, and you will make progress; 
indeed, when you have, by according with it, made that prayer your own, 



100 

you will already have made progress. Great progress. Let it be for 
awhile your daily prayer; for, till you have fully mastered every desire 
in you, contrary to its spirit, and meaning, you cannot have peace. When 
you have mastered all those contrary desires, and laid yourself, in your 
submission of your Free-will, at the feet of God, you will have that peace, 
which the world cannot give, neither can it take away. 

§ 110. Perhaps you have never had a taste of this peace. If you have 
not, you know not how great is the reward I offer you. It is passing all 
understanding. The reason of man can never comprehend, or understand 
it- It must be experienced to have any correct idea or knowledge of it. 
It is as far beyond contentment, as contentment is beyond repining. It 
is as far beyond joy, as joy is beyond sorrow. It is quiet in its manifesta- 
tion, but deep in its channel. It flows ever, from the pure fountain of 
bliss which wells in the throne of God, and proceeds continually from 
thence, to every part of the Universal Whole. A higher Universe, 
than I have yet spoken of. Before I spoke of an Association-of-Associa- 
tions-of-Associations combined into a Whole. Now I speak of a Com- 
bination of these last named Combinations, arranged into the Great UNI- 
VERSAL WHOLE. Does this comprise the Whole of Creation. 
No, finite reader, INFINITY cannot be described to you, in language 
comprehensible by material minds, as all minds are, to a greater or less 
degree, whilst in the body. Let us then pause. God's bliss not only 
proceeds, to every part of the Universal Whole, but it proceeds to every 
part of the Infinite Creation, continually. It is never in the least degree 
scanted, or lessened. From everlasting to everlasting, that is from one 
indefinite period to another indefinite period, it proceeds unabated, without 
limit, without cause, except God's Will and Mercy, without money, and 
without price. It is this bliss, which, entering into the soul of man, when 
he has submitted himself to God, becomes, or forms, within h m, that 
peace which the world cannot give, neither can it take away. 

Let us pray. 

§ 111. Oh! Almighty, everlasting, and unappreciable, God. may it 
please thee to look with ineffable mercy, upon this reader of thy .Revela- 
tion. So that he may understand, and believe it. So that he may com- 
prehend, and receive it. So that he may feel, and know, the certainty 
of thy Divine Word, herein contained. The Word of thy Power, that 
took flesh eighteen hundred years ago, and now desires to penetrate, and 
pervade the bodies and souls of men, in this transitory state of existence, 
which they call Life. Oh ! God ! may it please thee, to aid by thy Power, 
sanctify by thy Grace, establish by thy Will, and confirm by thy Love, and 
Mercy, the good desires that sometimes arise in the heart of this reader. 
May it please thee, to help his every effort, to control his passions, to 
overcome his base inclinations, his unworthy motives, his unwise resolves. 
Oh ! God ! be merciful to him a sinner. Oh ! God ! have pity on hjm, a 
low son of Earth, who has aspirations at times, and hopes always to reach 
forward to something better, without knowing how to progress, or what 
desire. Prepare him, Oh! God! for advancement into the Life to come; 
and, for the union, and communion, of thy Holy Spirits ; who desire, 



101 

Oh ! God ! to be his helpers, and to serve him as willing servants of all 
whom it pleases thee to raise, to the high and holy calling ; wherewith 
are called all the spirits in thy Paradise, and in every stage of their ex- 
istence. Help us, oh ! God ! to do thy Will, and perform thy Pleasure ; 
and be our Mighty God, our Everlasting Counsellor, our Prince of Peace ; 
and not only, oh ! God ! to us, but to this reader of our Revelation of Thy 
Will. Save us, and be our Redeemer, oh ! God ! and help this man, 
this reader, with thy sure Power, so that he, too, shall be speedily re- 
deemed from the law of Sin and Death. Be his Comforter, Oh ! God ! 
even as thou hast been our Comforter, and be our Helper, to help him. 
Amen. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE MOON". 
Changes of the Moon's Surface. 

§ 112. The causes that retain the Moon, in an orbitual revolution, 
precisely equal to its rotary one, are interesting, and instructive. Their 
explanation, will also remove an objection, or argument against the theory 
I have made known, of the formation from a ring, of this body. It is 
easy to suppose, that bodies having a rapid axial revolution, might become 
round, after winding up into a ball, or spherical body. But how can the 
Moon get this spherical shape, and have an axial revolution, precisely 
equal to its orbitual revolution ? 

§ 113. At first the Moon had a rotary or axial revolution quite rapid, 
which it received in the way I have described. Then it ceased to re- 
volve, in consequence of a flattened pole. This became so flat, as to be 
thinner than would support itself. It collapsed, and fell to the inner crust. 
The inner crust again, having now no counterbalancing attraction to sus- 
tain its equilibrium, also met, by attraction, the opposite side of the outer 
crust. So that the Moon is really a shell, open at one part of its periph- 
ery, containing a ball, resting on the inner part of the shell, opposite to 
the opening. It then presented this heavy side, where the two crusts 
touched or joined each other, to the earth ; and, by the Earth's attraction, 
it is ever maintained in that presentation. The opening, which is about 
eighty degrees across, is, consequently, ever invisible to Earth's inhabit- 
ants ; though it is seen from other planetary bodies, and from the sun. 
It is also so small, as not to interfere, with the presentation of a globular 
shadow, during eclipses. This form of the Moon is an anomaly in this 
Solar System. But other systems have similar cases, though they are 
comparatively rare. 



102 



CHAPTEK XX. 

THE SUN. 
Nature of Heat ; and Condition, and Climate, of the Sun, and other bodies. 

§ 114. The cause of the supposed increase of heat, towards the center 
of the Earth, is the concentration, or solidification, of matter, continually 
going on. By this, the latent heat of gases, liquids, and softer solids, is 
set free. This heat, then reaches the surface of the Earth's crust, by de- 
grees, by transmission through the solid matter. When it reaches the 
surface, it is dissipated again into the gases, and atmosphere, which re- 
tains, and multiplies, and guards it. 

§ 115. But then the atmosphere does not grow warmer, at least lias 
not within the memory, or historical records, of man, but rather the con- 
trary ! The caloric, or heat, which is a definite substance, as much so, 
as a gas is a substance, extends itself, in an extremely rarified form, in the 
upper or outer regions of the atmosphere; and would, in time, become 
luminous, like the Sun, if it were not returned to the Earth, by the Sun's 
rays, which thus obtain their heat. There is now, no more brought to 
the Earth's surface than formerly ; because, formerly, the heat derived 
from the interior was much greater, the changes from aeriform to liquid, 
and liquid to solid, proceeding then with great rapidity, and nearer the 
surface. The changes are now more distant, and are also fewer there. 
But the reservoir of heat in the atmosphere has increased; and the Sun's 
rays are more fervent, than ever were experienced before, since the del- 
uge. The luminous appearance of all the stars, is obtained from this 
source. The faint luminosity, of the Moon and of the other planets, as 
may be observed, exists when unilluminated-by-the-sun-portions are vis- 
ible to us, is caused by this collection, or reservoir of caloric in the higher 
or outer region of atmosphere, surrounding each. 

§ 116. The spots on the Sun, are caused by depressions of its calorific 
stratum, which themselves result from an attraction of its internal crust 
of solid matter; which, at times, draws into itself, a vast portion of the 
outer crust, and, into this chasm, the atmosphere rushes. For the conse- 
quence of the solidification, or concentration of the interior matter, is the 
formation of a vacuum between the two crusts; and, until the outer shell 
is strong enough, to sustain its own gravity and form, it is liable to these 
collapses. 

§ 117. Now, with a brief sketch of the climate of the Sun, I will close 
my explanation of the Solar System. The Sun receives no heat from 
other bodies, as the planets do from it. But it possesses great internal 
heat, because the process of solidification, or concentration, proceeds 
largely, and rapidly. Its surface therefore is warmed by its internal heat. 
Its atmosphere, is also highly rarified, and warmed by the same cause. Its 
light is derived from its own luminous atmosphere, and it is only through 



103 

the occasionul openings. 01 spots as men call them, in its luminous atmo- 
sphere, that its inhabitants can look out upon the glories of the great ex- 
panse. Their knowledge of it is, therefore, very limited. But, the 
beings existing upon its surface, are of a high order ; because, they are 
the result of successive formations, like Adam and Noah, taking place 
after each successive departure of its attendant planets. In all other re- 
spects, of its scenery and inhabitants, it resembles the Earth, and the 
other planets. 

§ 118. Comets, are the fragments of atmosphere arising at the times of 
disruptures of planets, or planetary rings, from the Sun. When they ap- 
proach the Sun they become luminous, from the reflection of his rays, 
from their denser portions. But, this denser portion becomes elongated, 
by the powerful attraction of the Sun ; which brings its more solid por- 
tion into an accelerated progress, as it reaches, nearer and nearer, the 
focus of its orbit. None of these bodies, extends far beyond the outer- 
most planet's orbit ; though some reach so far as to be lost to the Sun's 
attraction, and fall into the atmosphere of some other body of the Solar 
system. 

§ 119. The Aurora Borealis is caused by a movement in the stratum of 
the atmosphere, which is highly calorific, and the movement of its par- 
ticles, makes the calorific stratum luminous ; thus forming a faint repre- 
sentation, of the manner in which the Sun is heated, and lighted, from its 
own luminous atmospheric stratum. 

§ 120. Now, a word upon Aerolites, or falling bodies, which occasion- 
ally reach the Earth; and, are often seen, in their progress through the 
luminous stratum of atmosphere, where their rapid motion, produces such 
a disturbance, as makes visible their course, but not their bodies. These 
foreign bodies are the fragments cf planets, and of the sun, set free at 
the time of various disruptions, of the rings of those bodies ; and, since 
that, revolving in erratic courses, about the Sun, or the Earth. At first 
they are gaseous, then fluid, then solid. They are, in fact, comets, solid- 
ified ; and, like most comets, small. Very few of the comets would 
weigh twenty tons, if placed upon the Earth. 



CHAPTER XXI 



History of the Future of Anglo- Saxondom, and of the New Jerusalem. 

I might call this PART III. ; but I refrain, as it would look so formid- 
able as to size, whilst it will be brief. I shall, in this, briefly sketch the 
future progress of mechanical, or physical, discoveiy or art. But not by 
such particulars as will enable men to make the improvements referred 
to, in any other way than they have been made previously. That is, by 
patient thought; and, Divine Influx aiding their own endeavors to benefit 
mankind. Small success is ever the result of sordid motives of action, 
in these departments. 



104 

§ 121. Ships will yet be built, though Railroads seem now to be fast ar- 
riving at the highest possible speed of travelling, yet, ships will be built to 
excel, in speed, the swiftest Railroad train, now or hereafter to be estab- 
lished or operated. The Atlantic, between New York and Liverpool, 
will yet be crossed in 24 hours, by power acting upon its waves. 

§ 122. Balloons will be produced, that will navigate the air, with con- 
siderable success. But their results, in voyages, must always be irregu- 
lar, and they will bear to the rapid ships, the same relation that sailing 
vessels do to steamships. A few occasional, extraordinary voyages, may 
almost equal the more perfect form, or manifestation of power of move- 
ment. But the great average will be far behind. 

§ 123. Shall land travel then be stationary ? Oh, no. The Railroad 
trains shall yet reach a speed, of one hundred and twenty miles an hour, 
for loaded trains. 

§ 124. When will these things be, and what shall be the signs of their 
coming? 

The signs, are evident from the past progress of men. Looking back 
fifty years, see what has been done. Look forward fifty years, and 
imagine an accelerated progress. For acceleration is the inevitable result 
of progress, unless some other principle interferes to counteract it. But 
you do not know, that that some other principle may not interfere, now or 
soon, in this matter! Well let that pass. I tell you what will be. You 
may judge hereafter, how worthy I am of belief. And, if you are wise, 
you will conclude that this entire book is truth, and nothing but truth. 

§ 125. The time, for the greatest of these improvements, will be after 
the downfall of British power; which must, and will, fall before the ef- 
forts, the last great successful effort, of the Dragon ; the Seven Headed 
and Ten Horned Monster; the last phase of the Fourth, or Roman, Mo- 
narchy ! Yes ! the mighty power, the vast empire, that the genius of 
Anglo-Saxons, and the favor of Providence, has so rapidly established, and 
now so wisely sustains, must be resolved into another form. 

§ 126. Let us recur to the Book of the Revelation of John the Divine. 
There we find the Beast, or, if properly rendered, the Living creature, 
or, the Seven Headed Monster, which is there put for Daniel's Fourth 
Kingdom, will combine with the False Prophet. The Dragon will give 
his power to the False Prophet; and, they will place a mark upon men, 
so that no man shall buy or sell, unless he have the mark. That is, they 
will restrict men from pleaching any other religion or doctrine, than they 
please to have preached. No man shall buy or sell, any other spiritual 
matter or thing, than they have marked out for him. That is the mean- 
ing of the passage. For the prophecy relates mostly to internal or spir- 
itual matters. This is rapidly becoming the case, in reformed church 
government in Europe, as well as in Roman Catholic church government. 
They are beginning to combine to tolerate no other. 

§ 127. The British Government forms the only European exception, to 
this state of progress ; and this, will the more incite the combination of 
the Dragon and False Prophet. They will persecute the Woman. Bri 
tannia is the Woman. Her child is America; or more particularly, the 
United States of America. Her child is upheld, or protected, by its na- 



103 

tiutial emblem, The two wings of a great eagle. But the Woman was not 
destroyed, for the Earth helped the Woman, and drank up the flood which 
was cast out of the mouth of the Dragon. The Earth is the flood drinker; 
that is, the absorbent of all that the Dragon casls out after the Woman. 
The Earth is the Contineut of America. It will receive, and absorb, all 
the armies, which the European armies shall send forth from its shores. 
It can absorb them without injury. Indeed with benefit to itself. It will 
thereby be rendered more prolific. What ? then, will Britannia be iu 
America! that America shall absorb the waters, or floods o men, which 
shall be sent forth, to fully overwhelm, and completely destroy the Wo- 
man of Britannia ? Yes ; there will be found the refuge of Britannia's 
nobles, royalty, and riches. There will be found every true Englishman, 
every high minded Anglo-Saxon, whether England, Scotland, or Ireland, 
is the land of his birth. There, will all seek refuge, when invasion shall 
have conquered, and power overthrown, that liberty of conscience, that 
security of personal rights, that guarantee of property, and of liberty of 
speech and action, which is the boast of the native Englishman, the glory 
of the British Constitution, the first of the Anglo-Saxon laws, institutions 
and character. Will this be in our day 1 Yes. The day is near at hand, 
when, in an hour, all shall be destroyed. The modern Babylon, shall be- 
come the prey of the spoiler. That City, never yet conquered, shall 
fall to rise no more. It shall become the residence of every unclean 
thing, which the foulness of Europe can pour forth. In it shall no more 
be found the peaceful pursuits of industry. It shall decline and be heard 
of no more. And, all the spectators, standing afar off, upon the shores 
of America, shall say, Alas! Alas! that great City! for in one hour is 
all her glory destroyed. And the shipmaster, and those who go down to 
the sea in ships, shall weep and mourn, for no man will buy their mer- 
chandize any more. Yes, freights will be dull. Ships will rot in the 
ports. For commerce will be destroyed by the fury of the war, and the 
ships of Britannia shall seek refuge in America's ports. 

§ 128. The colonies of Britain, will gladly coalesce w r ith the United 
States, when the British Isles shall be ruled by the Seven Headed Mon- 
ster. One mind, and cue thought, one government, and one nation, shall 
then comprise the Anglo-Saxon race. The mind and thought that per- 
vades it, shall be resistance to tyranny, and the destruction of tyrants. 
Then will commence the real struggle, between the Past and the Future, 
the Fourth and the Fifth Monarchy. Then will all the powers of Earth 
and Hell, be arrayed against Heaven and God's spirits. But, the armies 
of Jesus shall follow him. His sword will bear the inscription of THE 
WORD OF GOD. And can you doubt as to who will be victorious ? 
But, if the Earth be America, will not that be on the victorious side ? 
Only, when America, by her inhabitants, shall have submitted to be led 
by him. But he goes forth conquering, and to conquer. He has already 
mounted his courser. He is riding now his White Horse. He is King 
of kings, and Lord of lords ; and, in him is Salvation, and Power, and 
Glory. Submit, then, oh! reader! to him. Give him your heart, now. 
For the great day of battle is at hand, and the blood shall flow, so that it 
shall be to the horses' bridles. 

14 



106 

The Earth, heie stands, not for America, but for the power of man 
Men under their own guidance. But, the armies of Heaven will be com 
posed, of such as are led and guided by the Lord Jesus Christ, or his 
servants. And such guidance, and leadership, is the same as that of God ; 
as I have before shown. Death and Hell shall betaken captive, and Satan 
shall be bound a thousand years: after which he must be loosed a litile 
season. Death, here alluded to, is death of the soul, or separation of the 
soul from God; not its separation from the body. Hell, is the punish- 
ment received for sin, which is, as I have shown, the want of happiness : 
the existence of unsatisfied desires ; the realization of man's hope, which 
never satisfies him, or makes him happier. 

§ 129. And Satan, is The Accuser of his Brethren: which is also the 
outward desire, The Free-Will of Man. This, leads him to glorify him- 
self, at the expense of his consideration for his brethren : and, to accuse 
them in conversation, or thought, of evil desires, bad motives, and un- 
worthy actions; of which, there is no other proof, than the desire in his 
own heart, to do the things so charged upon the brother man. He will 
be bound for a long time, for the Day of the Lord. For a thousand years 
are as one day, saith the Lord. So declares the Psalmist. And so this 
was intended to be understood. That so long as the Day of the Lord 
continued, in a man, to exist, so long Satan, The Accuser of his Brethren, 
would remain bound; and, when that Day ceased, by the man leaving his 
state of submission to God, then Satan, or The Accuser, would be loosed 
for a little season. He would then go about as a roaring lion, seeking 
whom he might devour ; for the last state of that man, would be worse 
than the first. He would gather together the opposition to God, from 
every place in which it could be found, and in the valley of Megiddo, 
or of slaughter, he would be overthrown ; and, the camp of the saints of 
the Most High God would be established in safety, after the death of the 
Dody. Then Satan should be finally bound, and placed in the bottomless 
pit ; and a seal put upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more. 
Now I have explained this in the past tense, for it has taken place with 
men, continually, for a longer time than since John wrote ; but it is also 
true in a future tense, for such will continue to be the course, and expe- 
rience of men, in the body. 

§ 130. At the last, will descend the New Jerusalem, arrayed like a 
bride fur the arms of her husband. It will uot be an outward city, but an 
inward residence, for the saints of God, in the heart of man. When man 
yields his Free- Will, in submission to God's- Will, he will find this city com- 
ing down from Heaven. It will be to him as beautiful, as it is described 
by my servant, and medium, John. But, it will also be the purified, and 
sanctified, residence of myself. For I will be the Comforter, to him who 
submits to God, and becomes passive to my holy influence. To him, will 
I be King of Kings; and, to him, will I be Lord of Lords; and, to him 
will I be King of Saints; and. to him will I lead the armies of Heaven 
with the Word of God upon my sword. But, is there not to be any othei 
sense, found in this revelation, or vision ! Yes, there is also an outward 
sense; for, in ail that I delivered to John, there is an outward, and an in 
ward sense. The outward sense has been seen, and declared, by Prot 



107 

estant commentators, as far as the prophecies have been fulfilled. The 
last, is now near fulfilment. The Fifth Monarchy of Daniel, the Holy 
City of John, is about to be established on the Earth, in an outward form. 
The United States, already exist as the Fifth Kingdom. The Holy City- 
is proclaimed in you by this book. When I shall have still further pro- 
claimed it, I shall make you willing to have it come outwardly. The signs 
of its coming, will be a general belief in my revelation. I will establish 
them, by signs and miracles, in my own time ; which, is near at hand. I 
will raise up servants, or mediums, in all parts of this Kingdom, who shall 
declare its truth. Who shall be willing to sacrifice their fortunes, reputa- 
tions, lives, and families, for it, and for their faith. Verily, I say, they 
shall have their reward. Well done, good and faithful servant; shall be 
their great, and exceeding reward. But not a hair of their heads shall 
be harmed. No smell of fire shall be on their garments. I say unto 
you, that he who shall give up father, or mother, wife, or child, lands, 
or houses, ambitious hopes, or political consideration, shall receive a thous- 
and fold in this bodily life, and in the life, or state, to come, in the Spirit 
World, Life Everlasting; Life Eternal, in due time. Fear not, I am with 
you to the end of the World. On the Peter, or Rock of Faith in Me, as 
The Christ, The Son o f the Living God, I will build my church, and the 
gates of Hell, or man's opposition, shall not prevail against it. Be ye also 
ready, for I am coming soon. Be ye also ready, for ye know not the day, 
or the hour, when I shall come. Be ye also ready, for as soon as you are 
ready, I will come. I will enter your heart, when you submit to my will. 
And, My Will, is God's- Will. 

§. 13J. Let me then, once again, entreat you, that, laying aside eveiy 
prejudice of education, or tradition ; every worldly excuse of want of 
time, or opportunity ; every desire of self gratification, like love of ease, 
or of power, or of consideration amongst bodies of men ; every form of 
church censure ; every reliance on worldly judgment, that you resolve to 
go down into Jordan; the lowest valley of your country, or heart; and be 
baptized with the Holy Spirit, and with Fire. This is the baptism I call- 
ed my followers to, 1800 years ago. And this baptism by Fire, is a bap- 
tism of God's Love ; that, as a consuming fire, will purify your wicked 
heart, of every impure desire, every unworthy motive, every unholy as- 
piration, every desire to do your own will; and, implant in it, the ashes 
of joy, for mourning ; and the oil of joy, for consolation. Let me entreat 
you to submit, whilst you have the free choice. Accept my invitation now, 
whilst you can refuse. Do not, oh ! hardened heart! refuse to admit me, 
because you have the power of reason, and can argue after you are con- 
vinced. Do not refuse me, because you would show your stronger mind, 
your really rebellious disposition. Submit to me, as a little child submits 
to its father's teaching. Receive my authority as parental. Be ye as 
little children, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven ; and, except ye be- 
come as such, passive, obedient, loving, and reverent, ye can in no wise 
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; though that Kingdom of Heaven is 
within you, except ye refuse to have it there. 

§ 132. Now, let me once again appeal to you, by every consideration of 
your own and others' good, by every desire you possess for true happiness, 



103 

to turn once more to the prayer of the Fourth Chapter; and strive, with 
all your power, to enter into its spirit; and, in reading it to make it your 
own. It is only your Free-Will, I ask you to surrender. And, I ask you, 
not to give that to man, who might make a bad use of it, but to God ; to 
his Holy Spirits, who will let you work in their Will, which will be a 
great deal better. God is wiser, happier, better, and lovelier, than you; 
and, if you act in his will, you must be brought to such resemblances to 
him, and his nature ; and, your manifestations must come to be, so much 
like his, as to make you with joy declare, I give thanks, oh ! most High 
God ! Father Almighty! that thou hast been pleased to make known these 
things, to babes and sucklings, in men's opinion, and to withhold them, from 
all who will not cease to be strong men. Now, my dear reader, let me 
again ask you, to turn to the Fourth Chapter, and make the prayer there, 
your own. You will so find, that God is good, and that in him is no 
shadow of turning. Read it, as yours ; and say, Amen, in your heart, as 
if you had composed, and offered it, by your own intellect. Amen. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

THE TIME OF THE END. 

Present History of Anglo- Saxondom, and the JVew Jerusalem Present 
Call on All Men. 

§ 133. When I left the theme of America's future, I said I would por 
tray some of the features of the future greatness of her extent, and power. 
Let us, then, once more return to the consideration of Daniel's two vis- 
ions, and his interpretation of the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, and the part 
of John the Divine's Book of Revelation, which refers to the Fifth Mon- 
archy of Daniel. 

First, I will recall to your memory, that the Fifth Kingdom was to have 
no end ; and, that the Fourth Kingdom was to exist, till the commence- 
ment of the Fifth. The Roman, or Fourth Kingdom, has continued, by 
a constant succession of princes, under the names of Consuls, Emperors, 
Exarchs, Popes, and has been distinguished, always, as the Holy Roman 
Empire, since Christianity was the religion of the State. Was not then 
this empire, the Universal reign of Christ, when his worship was extend- 
ed over all of it ? By no means. Where do we find the City of Peace, 
the New Jerusalem, which was to come down from heaven ? Where do 
we find the great gathering of armies, alluded to as to be in the latter 
time, when the Dragon, and his angels fought, and prevailed not ? No- 
where in the histoiy of the past. Let us see when Daniel declared the 
time should be, that the Fifth Kingdom should commence. Unto twelve 
hundred and sixty days, or years of men, would the time be, after the 
daily sacrifice should be taken away, and the abomination that maketh 
desolate, set up. These are the times of reckoning. From the time first 



109 

mentioned, and from the time last mentioned, we may derive the exact 
time, when the existence of the Fifth Kingdom shall commence. From 
the time when the power of the Pope of Rome was fully established, as 
an abomination that has since desolated Christendom, to the declaration 
of the independence of the United States of America, is 1260 years. 
And what was the daily sacrifice, that was then taken away ? It was the 
sacrifice of the heart, which was then no longer required ; but, indul- 
gences, and pardons for sins, were granted from that time, by Popes, 
Bishops, and Priests. The Greek branch of the Christian church, too, 
went astray, at the same time. They, too, declared the Head of it, to be 
infallible; and endowed with power to forgive the sins of his fellow men. 
This, was not so unguardedly claimed, as by the Roman Church ; but, 
still the claim was made, and established. 

§ 134. But then Daniel was referred to another time ; the twelve hun- 
dred and ninety days, or years. Blessed are they who continue to wait 
for that time. Then, the last period given, is the thirteen hundred and 
thirty and five years. At this time should the end begin. And this time 
has expired. The year 1851, so called, of the Christian Era, fulfilled, 
and completed, the prophecy. But the armies have not yet appeared un- 
der the leadership of the Dragon, and the Lamb ! The New Jerusalem 
has not yet descended, like a bride adorned for her husband ! But the 
time has come, when these will occur, and has occurred, individually. I, 
however, admit, there is also an outward signification, which must equally 
be true. The armies are assembled. They have had one great battle, 
in Europe, during the year 1848. They will have another presently. 
The last great battle shall be in the coming time, but very soon. Then 
the time has not yet arrived, when the kingdoms of this world shall be 
the Kingdoms of the Lord Jesus Christ ! Not outwardly. Spiritually, 
his kingdom is established, in some minds. But this, you think, has ever 
been. It has never been fully established in anyone mind. But it is 
near at hand, now, with many. 

§ 135. Where then shall we look for the outward New Jerusalem ! 
In America. It came down from heaven in 1776. In the succeeding 
thirty years, it acquired strength enough to declare war against the 
Dragon; then represented in its temporality, by Bonaparte, Emperor of 
France, and of most of Europe, but certainly Master of Rome. But, did 
the United States declare war at that time, against the Emperor of France 
and Italy ! Yes, in effect they did, when they threatened war, if their 
demands were not complied with. But a peace had just been concluded 
and a territory acquired by the United States from France ! It was wrest- 
ed from the Dragon, by fear of its loss to the Anglo-Saxon mother coun- 
try ; and by the demands of the government of America. Its cession 
and acquirement, though peaceful, outwardly, were, none the less, an 
outward triumph. Again, let me remind you, that the last of the times 
set forth, expired in 1851. In that year, liberty, extinguished in Europe, 
fled to America. In that year, the last remains of religious toleration, be- 
gan to be extinguished in Europe ; whilst, even England was driven to 
further resistance to the spiritual, and temporal, assumptions, of the powei 
of the Dragon. 



110 

§ 136. But, then, how were they so blessed, who waited, and came to 
that year? Because, in that year my revelations commenced, through 
my servant Hammond. I caused, lower spirits to deliver, to him, "Light 
from the Spirit World." Did this produce great consequences ? It 
awakened some, it confirmed others, it led to the establishment of my 
medium in passiveness. He, as a consequence, became qualified for his 
high office, that of being passive in my hands, and delivering to the world, 
or inhabitants of Earth, what I choose to reveal. He is improved by his 
reception of this book, and has resolved to serve me only, hereafter, as I 
may direct. 

§ 137. I shall use him more. But not merely in writing. I shall use 
him to declare verbally, and orally, my revelations. When called upon, 
he shall go forth with power to perform miracles, and to make outward 
signs, even as I may direct him to reveal their coming, or intended per- 
formances. He shall have power to raise the dead in sin, to a knowledge 
of God ; and to reconcile, or heal, all who are sick at heart ; lame in spir- 
itualities, from hostility, or opposition to Divine Influence. He shall be 
also a worker of outward signs, such as healing the sick, and raising the 
apparently dead. But, when shall these signs appear ! Whenever he 
shall declare them as at hand. I will speak to him, at the time they shall 
be done, and he shall obey me, in making known their intended perform- 
ance. But, shall he not fail to succeed at times ? Yes, he is not so entirely 
submissive to my will, as he will be, and as he should be, to be free from 
rebellious desires, and unwilling performances. 

Let us pray. 

§ 138. Oh, God ! Almighty Helper, and Everlasting Father ! may it 
please thee, to make thy servant, L. M. Arnold, a patient, submissive me- 
dium, of thy communications to mankind ; so that he may be passive in 
thy will, and in the hands, or will, of thy Holy Spirits. May it please thee, 
Oh ! God ! to accept of him, with all his imperfections, with all his short- 
comings, and to pardon- him, for all the manifold sins, which a long period 
of worldly mindedness, and mingling with the world as a part of it, have 
impelled him to, and his own Free- Will has helped him to perform. 
But, oh ! God ! may it please thee, now, to let him atone for them, by be- 
ing thy servant, in this life, in the body, and thy son, in the life to come, 
in the spirit. And, may it please thee, to manifest through him, thy power 
and wisdom, so long as he shall clearly, and fully, give to Thee the praise, 
honor, and glory, of all his works, as of right it belongs to Thee, both now, 
and forever. Amen. 

§ 139. He, the Medium, accepts the prayer as his own, which I have 
made for him to the Father. Will it be granted ? All power is given unto 
me, both here, and in Heaven. Why then need I pray to the Father ? 
Because, the Father's will is, that all his sons, or spirits of every degree, 
shall have all power through him, when they submissively ask him for it. 
And, because I am his son, possessed of this power, extensive, as I have 
previously shown it to be, I am in possession of it, as knowing how to use 
it ; as having my will, in such perfect submission to his. that I always act 
in his will, and never in my own. But is not the prayer in your own will ? 



Ill 

Not at all. It was God's will that I should pray so to him, and it is pleas 
ing to him, not only as a manifestation of my submission, but because it is 
a pleasure to him to grant the desires, and petitions, of his servants, and 
sons. 

§ 140. I have not written, the explanation of the prophecies, as I de- 
sired to. My medium was not in a perfect state of passiveness, though 
he tried to be. This I shall have to leave till a future time. I will only 
say, that the Time of the End, has commenced. The Fifth Kingdom is 
established, on a firm foundation, which will withstand all assaults. Let 
earnest seekers find the truth, by looking to their own internals. There 
I will enlighten them. Let them read the prophecies, and compare them 
with each other, and with the history of the past, and I will help them to 
understand. The Lamb, with seven horns, and seven eyes in each horn, 
is He, who is now advanced to the seventh circle of the seventh sphere ; 
and, He is Worthy to open the Book of Seven Seals. He has unfolded 
it, or broken its successive seals. Its successive trumpets, seven for each 
seal, have sounded. The last trump has sounded, and the kingdoms of 
this world, have become his. To Him be glory, honor, praise ; now, and 
for ever, and ever ; world without end. 

Let us pray. 

§ 141. Oh! God! who art Worthy to have all honor, praise, thanks- 
giving, and glory ! be thou the Enlightener, of those who seek knowledge. 
Let knowledge be increased, oh, God ! as thou didst cause to be declared, 
to thy servant Daniel, it should be at this time. Be thou, oh, God ! the 
Fulfillerof the desires of thy servants; and lead, and help, them, to desire 
such knowledge of thy hidden things, as may be profitable to them, and 
to their fellow-men ; and, to thee shall be eternally, honor, and glory, 
thanksgiving, power, and dominion. Amen. 

§ 142. Be merciful, oh, God ! to those who do not believe this revela- 
tion. Let thy power not destroy them, by the destruction of their wills. 
But let thy power, so manifest itself, as to overpower, and master, their 
reason. Let them be satisfied oh, God ! that this book, could only have 
come from thee, and that thy servant, the medium, had no other part in 
it, than to receive, what I, thy son, formerly called Jesus of Nazareth, 
now the Son of God, of thy Love, gave. May it please thee, to so show forth 
thy power, through the other mediums of thy spirit, that the eyes of all 
believers in them, may be turned to these truths ; and that they may, 
thereby, be led to sacrifice to thee their own wills, and hereafter to act in 
thine. Let us all unite, Oh ! God ! to establish the kingdom of thy power, 
the reign of thy Saints. And to thee, they shall ever give praise, honor, 
thanksgiving, and glory, world without end. 

§ 143. Almighty, and most loving, Father, and Friend! be thou very 
gracious to me, thy humble, and unworthy, servant, or would be servant. 
Make known to me thy will, and help me, oh, God ! to do it, for I am de- 
sirous to serve thee, in thy own way ; and, as thou mayst direct, and guide 
me. Oh, God ! help me, for I am weak. Give me thy strength, and v 



112 

help me by thy wisdom, for to thee, shall be the glory, honor, and praise, 
for ever, and ever. Amen. 

Let ua pray. 

§ 144. Be pleased, Oh! Most Kind, and Benevolent, Father! to grant 
the above humble petition, of thy servant, the medium, L. M. Arnold ; 
made, as thou knowest it was, by his intellect, after writing in thy will in 
this book ; and, after having been confounded, by the revelation he had 
received, and written. Be his Helper, and his Guide, and lead him into 
perfect submission to thee, the only sure and steadfast Supporter, the 
only true, and perfect, Counsellor, and Guide, the ever sure, and ever 
perfect Lover, and Bestower of good gifts, to those who ask them, in 
submission to thy will. Be the Helper, and Friend, oh, God ! of all the 
mediums thy lower spirits have educated ; and, as they submit to thy will, 
and cease to act in their own or other men's wills, may it please thee to 
raise them to thy right hand, and establish them as thy servants. 

Let us pray. 

§ 145. Almighty, and most loving Father, and Friend ! I, thy unworthy 
servant, most humbly beseech of thee, that it may be pleasing to thee, to 
lead me to full submission, to thee, find to thy Holy Spirits ; and, may it 
please thee, to support me in every time of trial, relieve my every doubt, 
and console me in every affliction. Amen. 

§ 146. This last prayer has been made by my medium's intellect; and, 
is written as an example for other mediums, who may have to pass through 
some of the scenes, or times, or experiences, of trial, that this medium 
has suffered, and been purified by. For God works by various means, 
upon spirits in the body. His most loving dispensations, are sometimes 
the hardest to bear. But ail things work together for good, and to him 
who is fully persuaded of this truth, sorrow has lost its sting, and the 
grave its victory. For what is sin, but sorrow ; and what is sorrow, but 
joy ; when the soul, recognizes the hand of God, in its punishment ! 
What is death, but the entrance into life; and what is that life, but an 
eternal progression, towards the perfection, and love of God! The High, 
Holy, Ever Loving, All-Powerful, Creator ; Preserver, Saviour, and God, 
Almighty, Eternal, Incomprehensible, Omniscient, Omnipresent, All-Per- 
vading, Infinite. 

Amen. 



113 



INDEX 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 

Page 

Title Page, 1 

Advertisement, 2 

Introduction, 3 

Preface, .5 

Part I. : General History of the Earth, and its Inhabitants . . 7 
Part II. : History of the Divine Influx, before, and since, the Deluge, 58 
Part III. : History of the Future course of Empire, on the Earth, 103 

Index, . . . 113 

Outside of Cover 






TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Chap. 



Chap. 


II. 


Chap. 


III. 


Chap. 


IV. 


Chap. 


V. 


Chap. 


VI. 


Chap. 


VII. 


Chap. 


VIII. 


Chap. 


IX. 


Chap. 


X. 


Chap. 


XI. 


Chap. 


XII. 


Chap. 


XIII. 


Chap. 


XIV. 


Chap. 


XV. 



PART FIRST : Ten Chapters. 



Chronology of Mankind, conformed to the Chron- 
ology of Spirits, of the Fourth Sphere, . . 7 
Continuation of the History of the Word, . . 9 
Causes of the Decline of Man's Knowledge of God, 11 
Causes that required the Crucifixion of Jesus, . 12 

Of the Time when the foundations of the World 

were laid, . 16 

Reason and Truth of Revelation, . . .20 
Chronological Theology discussed, . . .31 
Chronological Theology, relating to Jesus of Naza- 
reth, discussed, 46 

Prophecy discussed, and Revelation explained, . 51 

Salvation, and its Means, discussed, . . .54 

PART SECOND : Twelve Chapters. 

General History of the Divine Influx, . .58 

Physical cause of the Deluge, . . . .85 

Noah, and his descendants, 8? 

History of Phenicia, briefly sketched, . . . 9C 
Causes which will produce a Second Moon soon, . 93 
15 



114 

Pagi 
Chap. XVI. History of Man's predecessors on the Earth, . 94 
Chap. XVIL History of the Creation of Man, and of his Develop- 
ment, 9C 

Chap. XVIII. Man's Spiritual progress 98 

Chap. XIX. The Equality of the Moon's orbitual, and axial, revo- 
lution, explained, . . . . . 101 
Chap. XX. Internal Heat of the Earth ; and Climate of the Sun, 

described, .102 

QUASI, PART THIRD : Two Chapters. 

Chap. XXI. Future progress of Mechanical Discovery, and Phys- 
ical Arts, ........ 103 

Chap. XXII. Prophecies of Daniel, and John the Divine, and the 

Future of America, or Anglo-Saxondom, . 108 



TABLE OF SUBJECTS. 



Chap. I. Nature of the Word, page 7. The works of the Word, 7 

Chap. II. The present action of the Word, 9. How to judge of Me- 
diums, 10. 

Chap. III. Causes of Idolatry, 11. History of Moses and of the Jews, 11. 

Chap. IV. The time when Jesus came, compared with the Present, 12. 
The Fifth Monarchy, 13. Necessity of the Crucifixion, 13. Appeal to 
Americans, 15. Prayer for Inquirers, 15. 

Chap. V. Who were the first Sons of God ? 16. Further comparison 
of the Times of Jesus and the present, 17. Jesus and his Christ, 18. 
Formation of the Earth, 18. Present state of Jesus Christ, 18. 

Chap. VI. Harmony of the Universal Whole of Creation, 20. Fifty 
Gifts of God to Man in the Body, 20. The differences and resemblances 
of Man and God, 22. Man's desire for Knowledge and progress, 23. 
The Millenium, 23. Formation of this Medium, 23. Prayer for him 
and other seekers to make, 25. Chronology of the Solar System, 25. 
Chronology of Man, 27. Chinese Chronology and History, 29. 

Chap. VII. Bible Chronology, 31. Garden of Eden, 31. Introduction 
of Evil, 32. Antediluvian Mankind, 33. Knowledge and pursuits of 
Spirits in the Fourth Sphere, 33. Knowledge and pursuits of Spirits in 
the Fifth Sphere, 34. Distinguishing features of the first six Spheres, 
35. Pursuits and advances of Spirits in the Sixth Sphere and first three 
circles of the Seventh, 35. Eappings and other Physical Manifestations 
of Spirits, 36. Passiveness required, 36. Intermingling relations of Spirits 
in different Circles and Spheres, 37. Arrival of Jesus Christ, the author 
of this book at the Seventh Circle of the Seventh Sphere, 39. Hypo- 
thetical History of the descendants of Noah, 39. True History of 



115 

Noah and his descendants after the Flood, 40. Growth of Priestly 
Aristocracy, 41. Difference between Impression and Revelation, 42. 
Genealogy of the Jews, 43. Explanation of Miracles, 44. 

Chap. VIII. Temptation, Fall, and Atonement of Jesus the Author of 
this Book, 4G. His Resurrection, Transfiguration and Ascension, 47. 
His power and superiority to other spirits explained, 48. The new 
manifestations of spirits proceed from him, 48. Future life of man, and 
the glory of the Spirit-world, 49. Prayer for a would-be-servant of 
God^O. 

Chap. IX. The Times of Daniel, 51. Coming of the Millenium, or Fifth 
Monarchy, 51. Jesus Christ its King, 52. How to come under his 
Government, 52. 

Chap. X. The resolution of God respecting man, 54. Who have sinned, 
and who have been raised, 54. How shall men be saved ? 55. Impos- 
sibility of Annihilation of Man's Soul, 56. The agreement of Reason 
and Revelation, 57. My Medium's present state, 58. 

Part Second, Chap. XI. My Medium's future development, 59. Im- 
portant Scripture text explained, 59. Two significations in all Scrip- 
ture texts, 60. Difficulties to be encountered by Mediums, 60. The 
Book of Revelation, 61. Explanation of its first chapters, 61. The 
Apostle's Creed, its History and Explanation, 62. A. J. Davis and his 
writings, 63. John and Daniel's unity, 64. Examples of sermons and 
order of worship I approve of, 64. Rules for meetings of Spiritual Be- 
lievers, 73. The small results from the outward ministry of Jesus, the 
Author of this Book, 74. Signs that this book is Revelation, 75. The 
Time of the End as declared by Daniel, 75. The primitive Apostolic 
Creed, 76. History of Paul the Apostle, 78. A warning to Spiritual 
Believers and Mediums, 79. Appeal to Men, 82. Prayers for the use 
of all men, 84. Prayer for him who desires to become a medium, 84. 
Appeal and warning to All men, 85. 

Chap. XII. Cosmography and Geology, 85. Symmes' theory, 86. 
Formation of the Earth's Surface, 86. Saturn's remarkable Moon, 87. 

Chap. XIII. How the Ark was saved, 87. Early Postdiluvian Geog- 
raphy, 89. Genealogical traditions of the Bible, 89. Early History 
of Egypt, 89. Moses called out of Egypt, 90. 

Chap. XIV. Commerce of the Phenicians, 90. Solomon's connection 
with it, 91. Phenician laws and language, 91. Origin of the Anglo- 
Saxon race, 91. Their Destiny, 92. Laws and Government of the 
Phenicians, 92. Their Religion, 92. Jewish History correctly given, 
in brief, 92. 

Chap. XV. Formation of the Earth's Moon, 93. The approaching 
catastrophe, or destruction of the Earth's surface, 94. 

Chap. XVI. Highest form of life on the Earth before Man, 94. His- 
tory of those beings, 95. Appeal to the learned to investigate, 95. 

Chap. XVII. Formation of Man, 96. Formation of Jesus of Nazareth's 
body, 96. Description of the Antediluvian Man, 97. The Earth will 
not again experience a Deluge, 98. 

Chap. XVIII. Man's early mediums, 98. What is required of mediums 



116 

now, 99. Infinity of Created Matter, 100. Prayer for the readei of 
this book, 100. 

Chap. XIX. How the Moon became round, and fixed to its present 
position, 101. Equality of its axial, and orbitual, revolutions, 101. 

Chap. XX. Cause of Internal Heat of Planets, 102. Nature of Caloric, 
102. Spots on the Sun explained, 102. Inhabitants of the Sun, 102. 
Nature of Comets, 103. Cause of the Aurora Borealis, 103. Aerolites 
explained and accounted for, 103. 

Quasi Paut III. Chap. XXI. Future progress of ship-building, 104. 
Ballooning in the Future, 104. Future speed of R. It. trains, 104. 
Signs of the times approaching, 104. The time when these things shall 
be, 104. Explanation of the latter part of the Book of Revelation, 104. 
Fate of Great Britain, 104. Future glory of the Anglo-Saxon race in 
America, 105. Satan explained, 106. The New Jerusalem, 106. Ap- 
peal to All men, to be properly Baptized, 107. Appeal, to All Men, and 
particularly to the Reader of this Book, to submit to God, 107. 

Chap. XXII. Daniel's visions explained, by John's Revelation, and my 
aid, 108. The Time of the End has arrived! 109. Where is the 
New Jerusalem ? 109. Hammond's "Light from the Spirit World,'' 
110. The use to be made of this medium hereafter, 110. Prayer for 
him, 110. Reasons for prayer, 110. How to understand the Prophe- 
cies of John the Divine, 111. Prayer for those who desire their ex- 
planation, 111. Prayer for those who fail to believe this book, 111. The 
medium's prayer, 111. My prayer that his may be granted, 112. An- 
other prayer of my medium's own making, 112. Conclusion, 112. 



THE HISTORY 



OEIGIN OF ALL THINGS 



BEING PABTICULAELY A HISTORY OF 



€§t ijMtral |tate nf ftlati, 

FROM DEATH OF THE BOM TO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, 
BY WHICH ALL MEN ARE SAVED. 

ANT), ALSO, 



COUNSEL, ADVICE, AND INSTRUCTIONS EOR THE PRESENT LIFE, BY 
"WHICH MEN MAY BE SAVED FROM SIN, SUFFERING, AND MISERY. 



BY GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT, EOEMEELY JESUS OF 
KAZAEETH, 

DELIVERED THROUGH AN EARTHLY MEDIUM, 

L. M. ARNOLD, OE POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. 



Price, in paper covers, Three Cents, by the Thousand; Four Cents, by the 
Hundred ; or Six Cents, by Retail. 



PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE MEDIUM, 

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE AUTHOR, 

AND FOR SALE BY THE PRINCIPAL BOOKSELLERS IN NEW YORK, AND BY 

ALL BOOKSELLERS WHO DESIRE TO FORWARD GOD'S WORK 

AMONGST MANKIND. 

IN THE YEAR OF GOD'S GRACE, 

1852. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 

L. M. ARNOLD, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of 

New York. 



This Book is the Third, of the First Series, of The History of 
the Origin of all Things ; and is presented as the Revelation of many 
things on which mankind have long desired information. Its truth is un- 
shakable by reason or argument, by other manifestations, or by the pro- 
duction of any other theory. Be wise and understand, for the time of 
the end is near, in which all shall see God as He is, and know Him to be 
Wise, Happy, Good, and Benevolent; ever acting, eternally existing, and 
universally present. 



Poughkeepsie Sept. 30, 1852 






INTRODUCTION 



This Book is the highest production of spirits given to men in the 
preseut age. It is the conclusion of its series, and forms, with the First 
and Secoud Books, by the same author, and through the same medium, a 
whole of "history, most interesting and instructive to mankind. But it is 
only a History of the Origin of All Things. The history completed, 
would be too voluminous for the present state of man's belief. The faith 
even of those who call themselves believers, is faint and weak. Those 
who ought to be its most strenuous supporters, are often the stumbling- 
blocks, which prevent the approach of others to the Great Fountain of 
Good. 

I shall, however, continue to make known, from time to time, further 
revelations to mankind. And, though the abundance of books now being 
published upon these subjects, given through spirits, may seem to some to 
preclude the extensive circulation of any one kind, even this Series, I 
would assure them that these books must sell, because I will have the 
testimony of every medium given in their favor. All who write, or speak, 
or receive raps, or sounds of any kind, or movements of any kind from 
spirits, shall be assured by spirits of their truth, and the propriety of their 
bestowing earnest and profound attentio-n to them. Every sincere inqui- 
rer, too, shall receive such an answer, through any such medium, as will 
satisfy him that he ought to be earnestly engaged in their study. 

Be, then, diligent, faithful, earnest seekers after truth, and you will be 
established upon its Rock ; and on this Rock, the Eternal Church of God, 
shall forever rest. Resting upon this Rock, no man's work shall be over- 
thrown. It shall endure till the end of time, and in the Great Day of 
Eternity. May it be your lot to stand in your place on the last day, prais- 
ing God for His mercy, glorifying Him for His wisdom, and rejoicing in 
His love. Your place will be a happy o.ne, and no man shall be left any 
longer unhappy, than till the time when he can sing the new song of 

Great and marvelous are thy works, 

Lord God Almighty ; 

J-ust and true are thy ways, 

Thou King of Saints. 
Amen. 



PREFACE. 



This Book completes the series of Three Books, entitled, The His- 
tory of the Origin of All Things. 

It is left to man's own will to decide whether he will, or will not, re- 
ceive the Good Tidings of Great Joy, thus thrice proclaimed to the 
earth's inhabitants. Reader, that you may be made willing to serve 
God, I have prayed that you may desire, with every power and aspiration 
you can summon to assist you, to receive the Truth. It is my hope, and 
wish, and prayer ; but all depends, in the first instance, on yourself. You, 
alone, can do nothing, but resist God's influence. You can resolve to serve 
yourself, to maintain your old faith, to refuse to consider and weigh the 
announcements and arguments here and elsewhere made to you, by 
which you could arrive at Truth, and a knowledge of your duty, if you 
would only desire to, and ask God to help you. You need not ask Him 
to help you to believe what I have written, or to arrive at any certain 
conclusion. What you should do is, to ask Him to help you to perceive, 
and know, and practice, and believe the Truth. Pray for right direc- 
tion, not for support in your present or any other particular course, ex- 
cept that you may be enabled to serve God, by doing His will here, as 
He would have it done on earth, which is, as He would have it, and does 
have it, done in Heaven. 

This Series is complete; and. taken and read connectedly, will lead 
every sincere inquirer to the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son 
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Comforter, or Spirit of 
Truth ; which last will remain in you, and abide with you, so long as you 
submit to His teachings, and desire, with good desires and pure motives, 
to serve God. It will also lead you to know God, and His Son, whom He 
has sent ; for by the Word all things are made known, and by the Word 
all good resolutions are established and helped. The Word of God is the 
great Comforter, the Prince of Peace; and through the Word, from God, 
proceeds to the mind, or soul, of every servant of God, that peace which 
passes all understanding of him who hath not experienced it, and which 
nothing earthly can disturb. May it be yours hereafter in this life. So 
shall it be yours in the life to come. 

Reader, Farewell. I shall have more for your assistance and instruc- 
tion ; but if you can not receive this with faith, that which is to come will 
not benefit you, but will only increase your sin, and add to your future 
unhappiness. Farewell. May you believe, and have faith. Amen. 



CHAPTER I. 

tus manifestations of god's interference with men in the 
present dat explained and elucidated. 






PART FIRST. 

The Call to Men to Obey and Serve God in this Life without Delay. 

§ 1. There is a proceeding from God, now progressing in the earth, 
which proceeds from God through his Son Jesus Christ ; one with all the 
Spirits of the Seventh Circle of the Seventh Sphere. From Him it descends 
through various spirits or circles, till it is manifested in the outward form 
to men. This proceeding is by men called the Rapping Delusion. It 
commenced in its progressive movement in "Western New York. It has 
extended itself over nearly all the Northern States of the Union. It will 
continue to proceed till it will be manifested in every part of the United 
States. No county will be without its sign : no town without its medium. 
It will be spread by outward manifestations, all of which will be of the 
same general character, though various in details. Some mediums will 
receive raps. Some will be writing mediums. Others will be speaking 
mediums. Again, there will be mental mediums, who will receive as this 
medium does. And the more passive and unresistant, the fewer doubts, 
the greater faith, the medium shall possess, the greater his power, or his 
display of spiritual manifestation will be. The highest medium now used 
by spirits is the one I shall use on this occasion. He is not so good or 
perfect a one as I desire ; but, till I find a man, or woman — for we do not 
make sex any distinction — I say, till I find a man more willing to be used, 
more submissive and patient when used, more faithful and obedient at all 
times, I shall continue to use him in preference to inferior ones. But, 
whenever a better one, in the respects above named, appears, or by train- 
ing becomes so, I shall leave him to be used by inferior spirits acting in 
my will. 

§ 2. The next manifestation of this proceeding from God, the Almighty 
Father, through me, the Lord and Saviour of men of earth, shaH be the 
preaching of the word, or gospel, or glad tidings of great joy, to all 
men; commencing in the United States and extending to every nation, 
tongue, and people, or community, in the whole earth. 

This will commence immediately ; wherever, by the outward manifes- 
tations first described, the minds of the people have been prepared for the 
glory of this manifestation, or revelation. Let all men then who desire to 



see the Millennium, or Great Pay of the Lord, the Kingdom of Jesus 
Christ, established in its glorious outward manifestation upon the earth, 
prepare for it, by submission to God ; by desires, fervent and ardent, for 
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in that spiritual form, in which He 
must first appear, preparatory to His coming in clouds of glory and as- 
suming to the eyes of outward men, a bodily form similar to their own, 
but refulgent with light and manifesting in its appearance the glory of an 
immortal Son of God. For all these things must come to pass shortly. 
Verity, I say, that this generation shall not pass away till He, that is I, will 
appear in my glorious appearing, and heavenly effulgence. But this ex- 
pression is much like that which I used in the body, when I told my dis- 
ciples that the signs of my coming should appear before their generation 
passed away ! The signs did appear, my coming was expected; but, out- 
wardly, I did not appear. The signs were given as an earnest that I 
would appear, and men were thereby incited to reformation and perse- 
verance in good. 

The signs were promised, and the signs were given. That is acknowl- 
edged by all. But the coming was not promised then to be outward, but in- 
ward, and that coming took place. I entered the hearts of such as were 
willing to receive me, and have continued to do so till the present time. 
In this work I have not been alone. The Spirit of God, that was the 
manifestation of my mission to men when I w T as in the body, continued to 
aid and instruct me after I disappeared from the wondering gaze of my 
disciples. 

§ 3. This spirit, as I stated in my Second Book, was a production 
through Saturn. He had been similarly chosen, and similarly aided by 
another spirit from an earlier developed planet, called by men the ninth 
great planet, or Le Verier's discovery. For there are in all, twelve 
planets now existing that revolve around the sun of earth's system. 
The outermost will not be discovered by any instruments men now pos- 
sess. But the others may be, and will be very soon. 

§ 4. From this brief sketch let me return to the subject which I desire 
now to unfold to men. It is a subject so high in its nature, so compre- 
hensive in its character, so glorious in its nature, so Godlike in its mani- 
festation, that I may well pause, and hesitate to try your faith, and rny 
medium's faith, by its announcement. He desires at this time my help 
to make him receive it with faith, and if you, oh, reader ! will also ask, you 
shall receive help. I will write for you a proper prayer, which if you 
can join in or make your own heart breathe a fervent and perfectly ac- 
quiescent Amen, will secure you from doubt, and bring you to a knowl- 
edge of the great things of God. 

LET US PRAT. 

§ 5. Oh, our Father and Friend! Oh, most kind and affectionate 
Creator and Parent! be pleased to give unto me thy holy love, and thy 
ever-flowing kindness. Grant, oh, most kind and benevolent Father and 
Friend ! to me, thy humble and unworthy son, or servant, or would-be ser- 
vant, that aid which shall secure me from the perils of doubt, from evil 
and unwise counsels, and persuasions of friends or relatives here, and the 



influence of any extraneous matter upon me. Oh, God ! thou canst aid 
me, and without help I can accomplish nothing. I, thine unworthy ser- 
vant, have desired with great desire, to know the truth. I ask not, oh, 
God ! to be established in my present belief, or in any man's belief, nor in 
the belief of any combination or association of men ; but only, oh, God ! 
that I may know the truth, and serve Thee as may be most acceptable to 
Thee, so that I may be deemed worthy to be Thy servant, and so that I 
may at last, when works have justified it, hear from Thee, Well done, 
good and faithful servant, thou hast served me well in small matters, thou 
shalt now serve me in greater and more arduous ones ; so that I may be 
deemed worthy to receive Thy revelations as truth, and Thy desires as 
commands. Be pleased, oh, most charitable Friend! to aid me in such 
way as seems to Thee best, and to help me to know Thee, the one true 
and only God, and Thy Son Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent to me and 
to every other child of earth, to invite me and them to the great feast of the 
marriage supper of the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the 
world of earth; and invest me, oh, God! with the wedding garment of 
Thy love, existing in my heart for Thee and for my fellow-men. 

§ 6. Then, having made the prayer, say Amen heartily if you can. If 
you can not, expect no benefit from the perusal of this book. He who can 
not allow the Father to help him, can not have my help. But he who has 
the Father has me, for I am one with Him, and He is one with me. 
Not that we are one being, but that we are two beings : He Infinite, I 
finite ; He Incomprehensible, I comprehensible to men in the body. He 
great, beyond, and above all, every thing ; I inferior only to Him, but 
equal with an innumerable company of other sons of God, as I have ex- 
plained in my Second Book. How then am I one with God ? I am 
one with God, and to you, the same as God. Because, first, I 
have no will of my own ; I only seek to do my Father's will, and I 
do His will. In order to do it, I have His power. He is the Director of 
all, and the Controller and Sustainer of each of His sons. And not of His 
High and Holy Sons only, but of every part and parcel of the great whole 
of His illimitable creation. Where then are you, the reader ? Are you on 
His side, on my side, or are you acting in your own will, resolved on try- 
ing the Infallible Truth by your fallible reason ? Are you resolved to con- 
tend with me, or God, as long as you can find in any corner of your heart, 
one rebellious thought, one unsatisfied desire, one proneness to destruc- 
tion 1 For what is separation from God, and rebellion against His revela- 
tion, but destruction? What is life, but to know the Father, and Him 
whom He hath sent ? Oh, man ! with what perversity you resist, with 
what perseverance you oppose, and with what destructive power you 
maintain rebellion against God. One says the manifestations are undigni- 
fied. Another says they are incomprehensible. One says they are the 
operations of known agents, such as electricity, or magnetism, or odic 
force. Another says they are spiritual, but evil. One says they will lead 
to something one of these days, and then he will deem it soon enough to 
trouble himself about them. Another says they are delusions, that will 
pass away and leave no trace that they have been ; and, therefore, he 
need not inquire into them. 



8 

§ 7. Oh, people of earth ! awake from your sfrpineness, from your indif- 
ference to the spiritual, from your absorptjaji * in the material. Arouse 
yourselves, ye professors of God's ministry. Try yourselves, ye who 
think you stand on the Church's platform, and believe it to be the Rock of 
Ages. Try yourselves, ye who delve in toil of gathering outward treasure, 
who add firm to farm, house to house, money to money. Who ask con- 
tinually, what is the price of stocks? but seldom, how is my soul now? 
And yet what will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his 
own soul? Oh! unwise people of earth, God will persuade, entreat, 
reason, and argue with you; but, He will not contend with unwillingness. 
He will not be thrust aside into a corner. He will have your heart if you 
will give it, but he will not take any thing else. What, then, will you do ? 
Will you give Him what only He will take? or will you offer Him 
money for a pew ; money for a preacher ; money for a church ; money 
for a missionaiy society ; money for a Bible society. The last you can give 
with pleasure, but the former is a sacrifice. The latter is popular, and 
will return to you in the esteem of men, the praises of the newspapers, or 
the honor of the church. The former is obscure. Men will not 
know of it perhaps, God will accept of it, but its reward may be all laid 
U£ in heaven for you. You will perhaps get nothing back for it, while 
yo^are in the body. You will, to be sure, have peace, which nothing else 
can give ; but men will think no more of you for that. Your notes can 
not be paid by your contentment. Your losses by unfortunate ventures 
in trade, will not be returned to you by that inward, spiritual reward of 
having from God, through me, a declaratioH of, Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant, thou hast given me thy heart, now give me thy money. No; 
but I will tell you again, that he who gives to me, or to God, will not find 
an ungrateful recipient. God will not long be your debtor, even in a 
worldly point of view. The treasure you lay up in heaven, will return 
you a better interest than railroad bonds or mining stocks. You will not 
only get the interest on it regularly paid here, but you will find the prin- 
cipal and the interest all added to it, on your arrival in the spirit world. 
For there are no failures when God takes the property to keep. Then, 
since it is profitable in a temporal and a spiritual view ; and, since the 
chance for reward is so great, the loss certainly nothing, will you not re- 
solve to make God your choice, and discard the world? Sacrifice what 
men call pleasure to duty ? Sacrifice men's opinion for God's favor? Be 
despised by men, that you may be God's servant, and that you may, in- 
deed, all the sooner be His son ! 

§ 8. Will any man say, you assure me I shall be eventually His son, 
whatever I do here? and, therefore, I will go on sinning, or whatever 
you choose to call it, but at any rate doing my own will ! Yes ; some will 
blindly and unreasonably say that, but how short is life in the body ! How 
long is eternity ! Let us place the one beside the other, and see their 
disproportion. It is a long while since the first settlers from Europe 
came to this continent. It is much longer since England received its first 
Norman king. The Saxon conquest of the Britons was long before that, 
and the Britons had long be'en independent, after they had ceased to be a 
Roman province. To go back to the times of Caesar, is a long stretch 



9 

indeed, but to go back to the foundation of Rome by Romulus is reaching 
into the darkness of antiquity. Yet beyond all that the Bible record 
reaches to Abraham, with nearly a correct chronology. And this, com- 
pared with the chronology I gave you in the Second Book, of more than a 
million of years to the Deluge, is but a 250th part of it. And what is a 
million, or a hundred millions of years to eternity ? It is less than a grain 
of sand compared to the whole solar system ; which is a million of times 
greater in volume than the earth on which you stand and defy God. 

§ 9. Oh, thou eternal and incomprehensible God! forgive the reader, 
he knows not what he does. Oh, grant to him more knowledge, more 
help, more manifestations ! Oh, God ! do all but take away his free will ; 
that, I know, is inviolate, for on that depends his eternal and present ex- 
istence. Grant, oh, my Father ! that he may be shown, by Thy power 
and wisdom, the folly of his dreams of enjoyment in sensual pleasure, 
when the spiritual delights of reconciliation with Thee are so overwhelm- 
ingly great, and so far beyond what the heart of man has co nceived of, » 

§ 10. Reader, can you seriously declare, it is better to enjoy your ]\f& in 
the body, in your own way, than to serve God, eve'j if this life ended 
with the body, and spirit, like it, then returned to earth ? Can joix 
really believe this world of materiality can satisfv your desires ? Have 
you ever known a man who trusted in it for happiness, secure his object, 
obtain his last wish? Can you still go on v A the path, broad and strait, 
leading to destruction of every spiritual aspiration, which God implants in 
man, as leader to the life to come ? Can you resolve that nothing from 
God shall enter your heart here, in order that it may be given up to the 
things of time, in the assurance tha* some time before eternity ends you 
will be brought into subjection to God, and be raised to His right hand as 
His high and holy son ? No*, I am sure there will be in your heart a 
condemnation of such resolutions; and that, perhaps, you will next say 
that God is so merciful, and I am not so bad but that I will hope that I 
may get along pretty fast in the next life! I see a great many worse 
than I am! I do not violate any law ! I do a great deal of good ! I try to 
be benevolent! Every body calls me good ! 

Now this is really the state of a large portion of professing Christen- 
dom. And yet this state is little better than the worst. It is that luke- 
warm state which John the Divine declared existed with some in his 
time, and which I declared I would spue out of my mouth. For I would 
that such were hot or cold. I would that they were better, for they can 
not be worse. To be unpretendingly cold, or lovingly warm toward God, 
is better than to be self-satisfiedly lukewarm. The one may be easily im- 
proved, but the last will remain in the second sphere a long time, because 
they will there, as here in the first, feel that they are pretty good kind of 
people ; that they did no harm ; they were pleased with themselves, and 
their associates were equally satisfied with them. How, then, will they 
answer the higher spirits, who will then call on them to submit to God ? 
They will say, what does God want ? Have I not kept the law ? Did I 
not follow the inclinations He gave me ? Did I commit any crime ? Was 
I not a good neighbor, a kind friend, a loving husband, an affectionate 
parent, a dutiful son ? Did I not belong to the church militant, as my ser- 

2 



10 

vant, the preacher, or minister, or clergyman called it; and, did I not 
cheerfully pay my full proportion toward supporting and advancing the 
creed and the doctrines of that church ; and was not that what God 
wanted me to do, and what the Bible enjoined me to do ? Such will be 
your plea in the spirit world, for such is your plea here. As the tree falls, 
so it lies. There is no repentance beyond the grave. There, all is atone- 
ment. Yes, there you must atone for the deeds done in the body. And 
how shall the atonement be made? By suffering the deprivation of hap- 
piness. By having every desire fulfilled, and finding every one to be dust 
and ashes. By finding all to be vanity ; vanity of vanities ! 

When you shall have recovered from the rage of disappointment, time 
after time experienced ; when you shall have suffered every pang that re- 
morse can inflict, and mourned and wept over your misspent time, then, 
you will try with longing heart to submit to God. Then, the task will be 
more difficult than now ; for then the time is longer, the work greater, 
the establishment of good desires more difficult, because the temptation to 
do evil is no longer present. 

§ 11. It is this which you can with difficulty understand. That when 
you are no longer tempted, you cannot so easily progress. "When you 
can not recede at all you can with difficulty advance. But I will try to 
make you understand this also. 

PART SECOND. 

The Effect the present Life must have on the Life to come. 

§ 12. There is in the mind of man an idea of self, a consciousness of 
AM, a realization of individuality, which I have shown, in the Second 
Book to be a gift of God ; indeed, a sphere of seven gifts. This quality, 
or essence, or gift, declares to him his indentity, when he has passed 
through, what men delight to term, the Dark Valley of the Shadow of 
Death. The spirit or soul does not, for an instant, doubt its being what 
it was. But it does not so instantly in all cases perceive that it is now en- 
dowed with higher powers, and that in leaving the body it left its fetters, 
which had chained it to relations with matter, now forever dissolved. 
Thus it has sometimes happened that spirits have returned to their former 
residences and associates, and manifested their continued existence and 
presence in various ways ; but each always blindly, and unknowingly to it- 
self, that it was now a spirit in form and material. For spirit is matter. 
Though it is matter more refined than bodies can feel, or in any way ap- 
preciate. Spirit is invisible, but it can make itself visible by assuming to 
itself such an agglomeration of the moisture ever present in the atmos- 
phere, as makes manifest to bodies of earth then* form and figure, in 
such guise or dress as they may will to appear in. Such apparitions or 
ghosts have often been seen. But they have been heretofore, generally, 
the chance visitants of earth, as I have described. They have, unknow- 
ingly to themselves, used the laws, and made the manifestations belonging 
to their new position. The continued appearance, or repeated apparitions 
which men have believed to be made, were only the results of a different 
process. This process is impressing upon* the mind of the supposed seer, 



11 

or hearer of the ghost or apparition, a psychological or mental idea, that 
it does really, by its senses, experience the real view, or sound, or even 
feeling. The same psychological process has often been shown, in the 
body, in public experiments lately. But there is yet a third way in 
which spirits in the second, or higher spheres, may act upon men in the 
body. That is by having the use of such agents as electricity, magnetism, 
od, and of a still higher, or more refined quality, or substance, called by 
spirits adamic force, or Adam. This last, is the material of the spiritual 
body, which invests the true soul, or essence of man, which is the proper 
Divinity within him; the part of God, separated to a separate existence by 
God, from Himself, in the beginning; and then placed in Paradise, as de- 
clared in the First and Second Books, as will be more fully declared and 
explained hereafter. It is this last adamic force, which enables them to 
control matter by means of the other inferior, but extremely, to men, sub- 
tile forces. The end of their being, is to control these forces with intelli- 
gence, and wisdom of God ; and by controlling these, to control all matter 
in the universe, or in the great whole of creation. 

§ 13. The spirit having reached the second sphere by dissolution of its 
connection with body, becomes a spirit of the first circle of the second 
sphere. There it remains an instant, or along time, as its life in the body 
has made it attract or repel the spirits already in the circle. If it do not 
immediately leave it, it must commence its reconciliation with God there. 
As I stated in the Second Book, there are spirits there who are among 
the earliest born of men upon the earth. Adam, or the First Man, has 
progressed much beyond this sphere ; but many antediluvian descend- 
ants of him are found in this and all the other circles of this sphere. 

The first part of the process of reconciliation is effected in the first 
circle, and may be known, or described, as the Reconciliation of Will. 
Will is the highest form of man's power, and the highest attribute of God. 
But yet, this must first be subjected; because, inasmuch as man's whole 
nature and self is under the dominion of his will, he can not be separated 
from himself in any way, so as to be free from the power of his own will, 
till that will has submitted to God. But then, the submission of the will in 
this circle does not include its entire and perfect submission. It submits 
in part, and so in part the whole of the lower faculties, or qualities of the 
man, become subjected to God. The part here submitted, or subject- 
ed, to God by man's free surrender of it, is the power of will to 
do wrong in thought, of the very first intention to do wrong to 
other men. Revenge is its name among men. War is its highest form 
on the earth. Death is its great punishment. Death to God ; for it 
separates them as far as possible from God. Hate is the next circle's 
work to remove. The third circle is Reconciliation of Love to Men. The 
fourth circle is Reconciliation of Love to God. The fifth circle is Recon- 
ciliation of Power to God. Of the power to do wrong to men, of the 
power to harm or disturb others in or out of the body. The exercise of 
this power has caused the belief in a being called the Devil, or Beelzebub. 
The name Beelzebub being a corruption of the name of Baal, or the Sun, 
as worshiped by the Canaanites. Its termination being significant of power 
to harm. Baal, that wrongs or injures, is the signification of the term. The 



12 

other terms, Devil and Satan, I explained in the Second Book. Having also 
there declared, that the popular idea of his material form, arose from the ap- 
pearances of antediluvian men, I will ouly further state, that this power of 
appearance continued longer in them than in others, because of their gross- 
ness and sensuality preventing them from sooner realizing their changed 
condition. Even up to this time, some of them ignorantly believe them- 
selves in the body, and try to make men believe them real actors on the 
stage of outward things. 

§ 14. The belief in a material devil, or Beelzebub, has then some founda- 
tion other than invention, or imagination. It has just so much foundation 
as I have described. And almost every great popular belief, though scouted 
by science, or theology, has about as much. Where then are we to look 
for truth, if neither science nor theology can establish or declare it? Look 
to revelation. That is always sure. But how shall we know what is and 
what is not revelation? Men will very seldom declare any thing revela- 
tion that is not. They are too fond of glory and honor. To declare reve- 
lation makes a man humble. He must deny what men are willing 
to declare to be his own work, to be his. He must say that for it he 
deserves no honor, no reputation. That he is no more than a humble in- 
strument. No more to God, than the pen is to man. When a man 
writes a thrilling story, or a learned treatise, do you attribute the work or 
the honor to the pen with which he inscribed it, or do you regard with 
veneration, or love, or admiration, the mind that composed it ? The latter, 
of course. Then would you expect the man who had thus produced the 
excellent work called the Second of this Series, containing so many new 
and startling hypotheses, if not truths ; such profound deductions from 
known facts, if not revelations ; such eloquent preaching and entreaty, if 
not divine essays ; such cogent argument, and convincing, well-arranged 
logic, if not the intuitive responses of man, to the touch of God's finger 
upon his spiritual essence ; I say, would you expect a man who had pro- 
duced such a book, written in less than three weeks, without previous 
preparation, without neglecting his daily business duties, entirely written 
before breakfast or after tea, the one early, and the latter late ; would you, 
I say, expect such a man, having written such a book, to declare that he 
did not do it ? That he was incapable of it, and that he could not even 
now write it if deprived of a copy ; that he could not even copy it in 
double the time he occupied in writing it ; I say, would you believe it 
possible, that he should deny publicly and totally what men would thrust 
upon him, the honor and reputation of having taken a place in the annals 
of literature without a precedent ? No ; the temptation is always the 
other way. Men gather from the labors of others, and claim themselves 
to have accomplished the work. Men steal the literary work of others, 
and say, " Look how much I have done !" and " how quickly I did it !" 
Men still refuse them credit for the labors of others, they still the more 
pertinaciously insist that they deserve all the honor, all the glory, all the 
reputation, all the reward, that such work of right should receive, and 
that they can produce plenty more as good. 

§ 15. But my medium claims nothing of all this. He declares on all 
occasions, that he was only my instrument, and that any man of ordinary 



13 

intelligence and attainments could have done the same. Aud yon won't 
believe it. You never before suspected him of such smartness, but now 
you begin to try to make yourselves believe you had seen some evidences 
of it. That he had read a great deal. That he had thought much. 
That he had had a varied experience. And that, after all, he must have 
written it, or picked it up from his reading, and agglomerated the results 
of the long devotion he had maintained for knowledge. He had then 
produced a remarkable book, but one unworthy of reverence as truth, or 
revelation. But you, who know him best, know that his memory is de- 
fective, and his command of ideas for conversational, or essay purposes 
very limited. You know he could not have written it ; though you do 
not like to admit, that one you know to be so much like men in general, 
should be so selected for such a work. Some say, " We do not w T ant any 
more revelation ;" "The Bible is sufficient for us." But such forget, that 
it declares there shall be more. That God would pour out His spirit on 
the people, and that old men should dream, and young men see visions, 
and that all should prophecy. But you know that there must be a begin- 
ning. That God has always chosen the humble among men to do His 
work ; and, that He can raise whom He will, and put down whom He 
will. All this you know, and admit. But, then, you can not believe it 
should happen, that God wxmld select a man you knew, you had asso- 
ciated so often with, and had treated so familiarly as a common man. It 
seems that it should rather be some one from a distant country, with im- 
posing mien, strange apparel, and elevated above the common wants and 
failings of common men. But a moment's reflection must tell you, that 
every man is familiarly known to some circle, and you may also call to 
mind, that when I was in the body, performing my work among men, 
to which I had been similarly called, but with greater advantages of 
nature and preparation, that I was regarded by those who knew me 
familiarly, as a common man; and they exclaimed then, "Is not this the 
Carpenter's son, and have we not his brothers, and sisters, and cousins, 
and friends with us !" And those brothers and sisters, those cousins and 
friends, with one exception, that of a cousin, believed not that I was in- 
spired, but that I was deluded, or in their form of expression, that I had a 
devil. My medium is similarly situated. He, too, treads the wine-press 
alone. No word of encouragement, no manifestation of sympathy, cheers 
or incites him. He has a cousin who believes not especially in him, but 
in the general truth and divine origin of the outward manifestations. But 
though thus left to rely on me only for support and consolation, he shall 
not, nor has not, found any want. Every consolation, every cheering 
promise, every vivifying hope is furnished by me. For he who gives up 
father or mother, wife or child, friend or acquaintance, for my sake, or to 
do my will or work, shall receive a thousand-fold here, in this outward 
bodily life. The peace and contentment that I give passes all under- 
standing, and can no more be explained to the understanding of those who 
have not experienced it, than the joys of heaven, or the bliss prepared by 
God, for those that love and serve Him. And this is because it is a part 
of heaven. A part of that same bliss or reward, prepared by God for the 
faithful servants of His will, and the sons of His love. 



14 

§ 16. What then remains ? Shall I portray the future of my medium, 
and take away from him the pleasure of enjoying the succession of events 
which make up the experience of this life, and the joys of the next state 
of existence ? Shall I give him power to make all men bow down before 
him and worship him, when they ought to worship God ? Shall I leave 
him to neglect and poverty, as a mark of my power to sustain a man under 
every dispensation and suffering ? Shall I cause him to be offered up as 
a martyr to the faith he teaches by influence and command ? None of 
these things will I do. He shall live as he has lived, and die like other 
men. But he shall be helped and aided in his temporalities, as in his 
spiritualities; and, so long as he gives to me the glory and honor of my 
help, he shall have it. This he is now willing to do, and I believe will 
continue willing to do. But do I not know ? No spirit, not even God 
Himself, knows what any man in the body will do, because man possesses 
free will. But, inasmuch as God, and His high spirits, know what has 
been, can see and know what is, and can perceive all the causes now ex- 
isting which must influence the future, a judgment nearly sure may 
be formed, as to what any man will do, through all his life. And, as God, 
and His high spirits, further have power and will to affect men's reason, 
and urge their passions or propensities, or incite their aspirations, they can 
secure such outward results as it may please God to resolve to have occur. 
So far we go, and so far God goes. Not because of the impossibility for 
Him to go farther, but because His will is that He will not, and that we 
shall not, go farther. 

After this long digression, necessary to your understanding and appre- 
ciation of this book, my third, I will proceed to inform you of the course 
by which spirits become reconciled to God, after leaving the body. 

§ 17. The next circle is the sixth. This is the circle of Love of Good 
works, as a manifestation or reconciliation with God. For the spirit, or 
soul, having come to a knowledge of God's love, is now desirous 
to offer a greater return than its own love. It then is taught 
that only by benefiting others can it serve God. That He needs no 
help, but that He graciously pleases to permit and approve of the 
efforts of His created beings to help each other. To benefit one another 
by their love, their labor, and their time. They then take pleasure in 
thus serving God, and God is pleased with their offering this part of them- 
selves to Him. So, their pleasure and happiness is vastly increased, by 
having thus progressed into works of love, and love of good works. 

§ 18. Then the last circle of this sphere of reconciliation is the seventh 
circle. The circle of Good Resolutions. You think the acts, or good 
works, were higher service to God than these ! In some respects they 
are so. But, viewed as a whole, good Resolutions embrace Action. The 
soul executes, in the spirit world, its resolves. It wills, and performs, or 
executes. Thus good resolutions comprise good acts, and good acts com- 
prise works of good. For, as I explained in the Second Book, the higher 
circle always comprehends and has the power of the lower. Thus, the 
highest of all circles is the combination of the whole, complete Knowledge 
of all God's creation. And not only Knowledge, but Power ; and not only 
Power, but Love ; and not only Love, but Action ; and not only Action, but 



15 

Will ; and not only Will, but Power of Will, or of forming Resolutions. But 
did I not teach you differently in the Second Book? Did I not say, that 
the highest spirits could not know more than the Intention of God ? I 
did. And that is power of will, for they enter into God's unity, so as to 
will with Him the execution of His iutentions. 

§ 19. The Sphere above the second, or Sphere of Reconciliation, is 
that of Memory, or Remembrance. In this sphere, is first brought back to 
the consciousness of men, or of their souls, the memory of the paradisaical 
state. But this is by degrees unfolded, or developed, in them. In the 
first circle, the memory of good works done in the body is developed. 
This is a great satisfaction to those who have done many, but it is clouded 
by a knowledge or memory of the motive, or motives; for, generally, men 
act under the influence of several motives. These motives, thus apparent, 
sometimes take away all the pleasure of the remembrance. But you may 
think, if a man does good, it is of no consequence what his motive is. So 
it is, to the recipient ; but, to the doer, it is of great consequence, for he 
reaps as he sows. If he sows for men's approval, he may get it, and that 
is his sole reward. If he acts for God's glory, he receives a return from 
God, proportionate, not to the good performed, but to the intention to do 
good. So you can see again how much surer is a man's reward who 
works for God, than if he worked for men. For men always give the 
glory in proportion to success, God gives it in proportion to intended ac- 
complishment. In the one case, the man is rewarded according to his 
desire, if he succeeds. In the other, whether or not he succeeds, his re- 
ward is the same. Hero is another great inducement to choose me, or 
God, which is the same, for your guide, and counselor, and king. For 
not only is my yoke easy, and my burden light, but my reward is sure 
and steadfast, and never passes away. He that drinketh of the Water that I 
shall give him, shall never thirst more. You see here is a new meaning 
to this text. True, you understood before, that I was to give you some 
spiritual consolation, that should quench your desire for it, but you did not 
know that it was to last to eternity. To the end of time, would do very 
well for some ; but to eternity, never ending, is a glorious reward, and one 
worthy of its Giver. 

§ 20. The second circle of this third sphere, is Memory of the Good In- 
tentions you, or the soul, may have formed while in the body. This is 
ever a great satisfaction to those who have them to refer to. Yet some 
have few, though all have some, as I showed in the Second Book, in de- 
claring that all were saved, or reconciled to God, at least, in part, during 
their bodily existence. But some have much of this joyful delight; and 
it forms one of the purest sources of enjoyment in all the future life. 
Here you have a further illustration of God's sure rewards. He re- 
wards, not as men do, for work done ; but for work intended to be done. 
Do any say, "Let us form intentions which will reach to Heaven!" 
They shall be scattered, and dispersed in confusion, as was symbolized in 
the tradition of the building of Babel. Remember, God knows the heart 
of man ; that He sees into every latent desire ; and every mixed motive, 
He can resolve into its components. More than this, the Memory of 
Good Intentions, embraces a memory of motives for them ; and no inten- 



16 

tion seems good to a soul, unless the motive for its formation was wholly, 
or, at least, partly good. 

§ 21. The next circle is that of Memory of Good Desires. A de- 
sire is very different from an intention ; because the intention can only be 
performed by an act, while the desire may be fulfilled by an intention ; 
and the desire to do good may even exist, without an intention being ever 
formed to execute the desire. How, then, can the desire benefit a man, 
when he does not even will its accomplishment ? He does not will its 
accomplishment, but he desires it. This God takes as it was meant. If 
the desire was good, and the intention not easily consequent upon it, God 
accepts the desire for the intention ; and the desire, for the proper con- 
sequent of the intention, that is for the work. Thus you have a further 
evidence, that God's ways are not as man's ways ; for man would scarcely 
bestow a second thought upon one who desired to help him, but failed 
even to resolve to do so. 

§ 22. The fourth circle is that of Memory of Events, or Opportuni- 
ties. Memory of Opportunities usefully employed, Events properly 
turned to account, is a great pleasure and joy; which is clouded, indeed, 
by the more numerous quantity of opportunities unimproved, and events 
unaccepted, for usefulness. But still, every man has some good to re- 
member of himself, in this respect, and he gladly leaves the neglected 
events and opportunities to oblivion. And can the man then leave what 
he pleases behind him ? Will he not be obliged to remember the whole 
class ? May he forget, when the province of his state of progress is 
memory ? He can. But not till all has passed in review before him in 
the fifth circle. He here judges himself. It is thus that God's books 
are kept in every man's heart. He thus judges men with righteous 
judgment; for the man's interior, or soul, disencumbered of the body, 
and acted upon by the efforts of the other spirits to show it the Goodness, 
and Glory, and Justice of God, as well as His Mercy, and His Benevo- 
lence, becomes qualified to see its errors, and its right actions, resolutions, 
or desires, or neglect to form desires, or intentions, or resolutions. So 
the past goes before the man in memory. So he judges himself, and 
repents in dust and ashes, for his misdeeds or neglects. Does he indeed 
repent beyond the grave ! Not repent, in the true sense of the word ; 
he bewails, or regrets his performances or non-performances. But he 
has not the power to repent. Repentance is regret for misdeeds ; but it 
is accompanied with resolutions for reformation ; with resolutions to resist 
temptations, which is the true repentance, and the action, which consti- 
tutes its distinction from regret. Then let us not say the soul repents in 
dust and ashes ! I will not take back what is written. It was my senti- 
ment and expression, though my medium has been alarmed, thinking his 
inattention had caused the error. But the true repentance is in the 
body. In the spirit-world there can only be regret and wishes that it 
had been left, or been different. Repentance is an act of will. Will is 
an act of freedom, and free-will is only partially left to spirits in the 
third sphere. They are not at liberty to go back to evil, and they must, 
if they move at all, advance. They repent then in effect, though not in 
deed. They desire to undo what wrongs they did, to do good they neg- 



17 

lected to do. They regret their inability to do it ; but they also, in the 
next circle, perceive the compensation, experienced through God's 
Mercy and Justice, to be sufficient for their punishment, and for the 
correction of all their doings, or neglects. This next circle is the Mem- 
ory of the Whole Past Life, including its First Circle in Paradise. By 
viewing, as a whole, their actions, thoughts, desires, intentions, and res- 
olutions, by seeing the combinations of circumstances, and the course of 
events which influenced and controlled them, they see that they have 
suffered, have atoned for the evils they did ; and now they may look for- 
ward to the highest happiness, as their sure reward, fbr reconciliation 
with God. 

§ 23. But what then remains for the seventh circle, of the Sphere of 
Memory? You will think, with my medium, that I, or he, has made a 
mistake, and told the experience or progress of the seventh circle, for the 
sixth, and that I ought to, or did intend to, put in another advance, be- 
fore the sweeping one I gave to the sixth circle. 

But God's Power (and Invention, and Wisdom, and Knowledge) is great 
indeed. It is infinite ; which is farther beyond great, than great is be- 
yond little, or nothing. The seventh circle of the third sphere receives 
the memory of others into its own. The Memory of Memories. This, 
you may think, is scarcely a proper expression; that it is, more properly, 
an acquirement of knowledge, than a return of it. But this is not so. 
Memory of Memories is the proper and true expression of it. For, as, 
the Spirit passed through its Experience Sphere, and its Reconciliatioa 
Sphere, it obtained by its association with others, in its respective circles, 
an impression of their mentals, or interiors, which now assumes to it the 
form of Memory of their Experience ; or, properly, memories. For the 
memory of each associate being imprinted on each associate's soul, in. the 
same manner that the course of that soul's own experience had been im- 
printed on it, a similar process restores to its consciousness the memory 
of the past of others, that was required to produce, or manifest, to the 
respective souls their own Memories of the Past. The seventh circle of 
the Sphere of Memory then gives to its member the memory of all that had 
been done by every other member of the circle ; and, also, the memory 
of all that had been done by every spirit that was associated with it, in 
each of the other circles of the Sphere of Memory, while it was passing 
through them. But it does not stop here ; but each spirit with which it 
was associated in the Sphere of Reconciliation, and, also, in the Sphere 
of Experience, had so imparted its memory to every other spirit ; and all 
that was, previously to such association, in the mind of the soul or spirit 
of each member of each circle, of each sphere, becomes possessed by 
each other spirit associated with them at every period of their sojourn, or 
continuance in the respective circles. I present this matter so varied, 
and particularly, and with such apparent repetition, that I may cause you, 
if possible, to appreciate the greatness of this gift, and the greatness of 
the Being who has so abundantly provided for the employment and en- 
joyment of all the vast and infinite number of His children, or emana- 
tions of His substance. And now, when I unfold to you that this process 
of receiving memories of others goes on in every higher circle, under the 

3 



IS 

simple law I have before stated, that the higher circle possesses always 
the whole power, or will, or knowledge, or experience, or memory of the 
lower circles, you may be able, faintly, to realize a conception of the vast 
resource that exists in Memory, to give happiness or employment to the 
advancing spirit or soul of man. 



CHAPTER II. 

TIIE OBJECT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE SPIRITUAL MANIFESTA- 
TIONS NOW BErNG- MADE. 



PART FIRST. 
Prophecy a?id its Jfajiifestations. 

The first part of this chapter I shall devote to an explanation of the 
term Fifth Monarchy, and the Prophecies which foretell it; the last 
part, to the Revelation of the future course of events, political and relig- 
ious, which are necessary to the fulfillment of those same prophecies. 

§ 24. The first part comprises the Past; the second, the Future. The 
past is not understood, though it has been much written of. The future, 
though prophesied of, can not be conjectured; but must be revealed, if 
known to men in advance of its occurrence. Prophecy and Revelation 
are different, as I showed in my First and Second Books. Prophecy is 
not understood by those who declare it, in all cases. But Revelation is 
plain and perspicuous, and comprehensible by men ; at least, by intelligent 
and earnestly inquiring men. Daniel always asked an explanation or 
revealment of the meaning of his prophecies or visions. So did John the 
Divine. Isaiah did not. But none of them obtained it with such clear- 
ness and understanding as to enable them to comprehend it ; or, as to 
enable others, who have studied them, and been aided by the light of the 
since occurring events, to comprehend them fully. Parts have been well 
guessed at, and terms have been well explained, by some ; but yet the 
guesses and the explanations are alike rejected by others, equally learned 
and as qualified to judge, or form an opinion. It all shows or illustrates 
the truth, that man, by reason, can not find out God; or any thing that 
God does not choose to have him know. 

§ 25. What, then, is the declaration of the Fifth Kingdom, or State ? 
For kingdom is put for nation or government. Not because republics 
were then unknown, but because the kingdom was to be under the rule 
of Shiloh, The Prince of Peace. It is to be the Kingdom of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, as John, the Divine, expresses it. 1 am to be its King, in 
virtue of my title of King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. I am also to be its 
King, because the inhabitants will elect to have me so, and will voluntarily 
submit to my rule. I am also its King, because God has given me all 



19 

power, both in heaven and earth. I rule with absolute authority the 
spirits of those who once lived on Earth, and I am permitted, in the Will 
of God, to proceed to establish my rule on earth, as it is established in 
heaven. 

§ 26. For a long time, and at various intervals with intensity, men 
have expected me to appear in bodily form, and assume the government 
by force. By overpowering the resistance of unbelieving, or wicked 
men. By marshaling the armies of heaven, as an innumerable company 
of spirits, again restored to bodies, and marching with carnal, or outward 
weapons, against the powerful array of the various earthly potentates, 
who should be unwilling to submit to my rule. Something like this will 
occur, as will be seen in the sequel of this chapter. 

§ 27. But the appearance now to be made is spiritual, and in the inter- 
nal, or soul of man. It is the same procedure that has been long main- 
tained to be in existence, by Quakers ; and that, I know, is now believed 
in, in various forms and types, by other professing and non-professing 
Christians. Hide it and cover it up as they will, and as their creeds do, 
they yet depend on it for their ministry, and for their individual guidance. 
Yet, as they generally accompany the belief by rules for its coming, or 
manifestation, they do not often get it, and more seldom get it so unmixed 
with their own willful additions, as to be reliable. From this reliance on 
their rules for its coming, they can not receive the Rapping Manifesta- 
tion as Divine in its origin, or as spiritual in its existence. 

§ 28. Four monarchies or kingdoms are plainly mentioned or described by 
Daniel, so that there is a nearly general consent to designate the Roman 
state or empire, as the fourth. But the fifth, or last one, was represented 
by a stone, that brake in pieces, and dashed into fragments all the others, 
and that should endure to the end. His kingdom shall be an everlasting 
kingdom, Daniel says, in another place. I have explained to you the 
meaning of everlasting to be an indefinite period. This period shall, 
however, be to the end of this condition of the earth. It shall last to 
the disruption, or great catastrophe, described in the Second Book. 
That will occur suddenly, and every one should be prepared, in all future 
time, till it shall occur. The last shall be first, then ; and the first, last. 
And so they are now, and will be, till then. (But this you understand if 
you have read the Second Book. If you have not, get it as soon as you 
can, and then read it, and afterward read this again). The last shall be 
first, then, though in another sense ; for the first with men, shall then be 
first with God. But the last form or development of man, will then be 
first in honor amongst men, because of its superiority; as Noah and Adam 
were made supreme rulers of the inferior or previous races. 

§ 29. The rulers of men now are men desirous of maintaining splen- 
did palaces, armies of servants, and splendid luxury in everything relating 
to themselves or their families, or immediate attendants. In this nation 
of the United States, a more simple, republican form prevails, but the 
same desires prompt the corruption of all the leading politicians, and 
hurry the downfall of public virtue. The simplicity inherited from the 
formal Puritan and austere Quaker, from the poor emigrant, contending 
with the wilderness and savage beasts, and more savage men, has nearly 



20 

departed. Unless the kingdom falls under the government of Him to 
whom it rightfully belongs, its progress must be downward, till it falls 
into disunion, dissension, and destruction. It must follow the course that 
all free communities before have pursued, from liberty to anarchy, from 
anarchy to despotism, from despotism to destruction, by exhausted nature 
and oppressed people, falling at last a prey to a barbarous, or more prop- 
erly, an uncorrupted nation, or handful of people, who may resuscitate 
its energy or reanimate its people for a brief period. But nature and 
man, together, fall exhausted at last. So it has been, so it will be, till the 
end of time. 

§ 30. What, then, shall save the nation that I have declared to be estab- 
lished already as the Fifth Monarchy, which should last till the end of time, 
to the end of the present time, to the disruption of the present surface of 
the earth ! It must be saved by submission to the government of my me- 
diums. It must disown every man who does not own me for his Prince. 
It must let no one administer its laws, or legislate for it, that does not 
acknowledge me, in heartfelt submission, to be King. Do you begin to 
think that, after all, my medium is not so disinterested as he would have 
you believe ? That he is seeking more than the honor of writing a book, 
he is seeking the control of a nation ? Verily, I say, he is as much sur- 
prised as you who read. He is incapable of such a magnificent scheme ; 
and were he to form it, how should he get help to carry it out ? Other 
mediums would not unite with him, unless I desired it. And if I desire 
it, why should he not be ruler as well as any other man ? Is he not as 
honest and as capable as some who have filled the highest office ? If not, 
then he can not write this book. If so, he may, with propriety, aspire to 
the office. If not, I must help him to write this book ; and if I help him 
to do this, could I not direct him how to perform, with credit to himself, 
and profit to the people, his official duties ? If I do not help him to 
write this book, how shall he be helped to obtain the office ? For he can 
not influence the other mediums of spirits, by his own intellectual effu- 
sions. So if he writes himself, he will not obtain that reward ; and if I 
write for him, he will not seek that reward ; for he will be no longer my 
medium when he asks pay for his services. But you ask, does he not 
make money by his books ? He has not yet, and if he should, he will 
hold it as my steward, to be, by my order, disbursed. He may be un- 
faithful! Then I shall know it, and I will take care that he harms no one 
but himself, by such unfaithfulness. No, my captious reader, do not so 
easily take alarm at the bold expressions I must use to awaken your 
attention, and fasten upon your conviction that I am one who speaks with 
authority, and teaches as man never taught. 

§ 31. I call, then, on every man to investigate, to weigh carefully the 
evidence already attainable, to collect more and more, to cease not to 
investigate while the manifestations are made, unless he becomes assured 
and convinced, beyond wavering, that there is a procedure from God, 
especially at this time, and for a particular purpose. That the purpose is 
the establishment of a kingdom, or nation, or people, which is already 
designated to be the United States of America, as the kingdom that was 
hewn out. or established without hands. And it was declared that I 






21 

should take the government of it; and now I am ready to do it. Now I 
call on you, oh, reader ! to submit to me. I ask you to give your heart 
to God. To promise from henceforth, to try to serve Him faithfully, to 
walk humbly and submissively in whatever path I, His Son, shall desig- 
nate. Do you ask to be ruled by God. and not by me, oh, Quaker ! as 
I know some of you do ? Then I will accept your offering exactly as if 
made to me, if you make it to God. Pray to God, I will answer for 
Him. Submit to God, I will rule you for Him. You need never to 
mention my name ; unless it is enough for you to serve God in His own 
way, and in the way He marks out for you. His way is to rule through 
His Spirit, or Son, or Sent: all synonymous. But you admit that God 
enters you, and impresses you by His spirit; and yet you would not like 
to have that spirit (though it declares itself to be of God, and from God, 
and one with God), also declare itself to have once inhabited a body on the 
earth. You don't want to have any other than God playing with your inter- 
nals, you say, in a half joking, half earnest way. Well, to you I am as 
God ; because, when you ask for God, I present myself; when you pray 
to God, I answer your prayer ; when you open your heart to let God's 
spirit enter, I enter myself. When you shut out me, you shut out Him 
that sent me. For I am one with the Father; and I ask you to be 
one with me, even as I am one with the Father. But you do not under- 
stand this Trinity ! Yet this Trinity is explainable, though the Orthodox, 
as it is called, Trinity is inexplicable. That I am one with the Father, 
is fully explained in the Second Book, and to that I refer you. That you 
can be one with me, I have also shown in that Book ; but I will again 
briefly say, that you must become one with me, by the sacrifice of your 
free-will. You must act in my will, and try to bear the same relation to 
me that I bear to the Father. I will help you ; and if we both try our 
best, be assured that we will not and can not fail. 

§ 32. The next point to which I will direct your attention, is that of 
your submission to the directions of my declared, or revealed, will through 
mediums. Mediums will hereafter be the name used to denote such as 
the Jews called prophets. The Jews all knew and maintained that the 
will of God would, as well as could, be made known to them, through the 
prophets. But yet they seldom obeyed their counsels, or followed their 
directions. Their history is a history of rebellions and punishments. The 
terrible and fatal one which followed, and was consequent upon their 
rejection of me, was the last, except the constant, ever-enduring one of 
dispersion and disruption as a nation. True, this occurred, in part, be- 
fore Titus sacked Jerusalem, and burned the pride of the nation with fire. 
But it was then a consequence of their sins and rebellions ; as was the 
final dispersion the consequence of their crowning offense. 

§ 33. The last great call I make upon you now, and in this relation, is 
to hear this medium. For I will establish his truth by the mouth of 
many witnesses. If any doubt, and sincerely desire to have their doubts 
removed ; sincerely desire to know whether to believe the whole of these 
writings, or a part, or none, let him go to a rapping or a writing medium, 
and he shall have an answer. If his inquiry is sincere, and made with a 
resolution to be governed by it, he shall have an answer. If not so 



22 

made, he shall get none. By this, hereafter, shall you know that a me- 
dium is operating in unison with me. Every spirit that confessed! not that 
I have come in the flesh, manifest by my writing these Three Books, 
which, however, are not all I shall write thus ; I say, every spirit that 
confesseth not this, is not of God ; is not of me ; is not so far advanced 
in the Sphere of Reconciliation, or else is so much controlled by the 
medium, as to be unworthy of regard. This test was given by John the 
Divine, in his General Epistle to the Churches then in being. But he 
knew it would continue to be true, even after the signs, or manifestations, 
of that day should have ceased. 



PART SECOND. 
Prophecy and its Future. 

§ 34. The second part, or sequel of this chapter, is of the future. 
Relative to this is the explanation of the prophecies of Daniel and John 
the Divine, so far as they are unknown to men in the body, in the pres- 
ent day. 

The first prophecy was derived from the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, 
the second was when Daniel stood, or dreamed that he stood, by Nbet v 
banks of the river Ulai, or Peace. The third vision was by the Hiddekel 
or Tigris river; and the fourth was in the banquet hall of Belshazzar. 
But you say I have not named them in the order given by Daniel, and 
that he gives the time very particularly. Blame my medium, not me. 
He perverted the stream of my revelation by his misrecollection of the 
second ; and as it was of no consequence, I let it pass in his own way, as 
a punishment to him for his want of passiveness. The last vision was 
that of John the Divine, when he was in the Spirit on a day appointed by 
me, in the isle of Patmos, or Peace. 

§ 35. Daniel declares the fifth kingdom, under the figure of a stone, 
rejected by the builders. John, as a city, coming down from Heaven. 
But the stone was hewn without hands ; that is, without outward hands, 
or labor. The government of the first settlements of America was of 
this kind. It proceeded from Britain without the aid of Britain. It 
made its own laws, and established itself in a wilderness. The colonies 
grew when the parent country neglected them. They were oppressed 
when it undertook their care. They established their independence by 
the aid of prayer and thanksgiving to God for victory. They formed their 
constitution by its aid, and by the earnest supplications of devout, sincerely 
pious men. The last shall be first hereafter, and the first last now. The 
efforts of pious, sincerely pious men, shall always avail much, and here- 
after shall avail more, because more confidence will be reposed in their 
efforts by the nation, when it shall have placed itself under my govern- 
ment. But the true reliance must be upon the medium, who declares 
my will by Revelation. The Jew always admitted his obligation to God 
as his supreme ruler, and expected His will to be made known through 



23 

His selected mediums. Many were educated to be mediums; and a 
proper training does much to. fit a man for such work. But the true 
training must, at least, be completed by God's spirits, ere the man is a 
proper or truthful medium. The kind of preparation required, is only 
what will be most useful to every man ; and what will fit him to be a judge 
of the truth of the revelations made through, or declared by, the mediums, 
because it will fit him for the reception of me, or of lower but elevated 
spirits, into his heart ; who will impress upon him a judgment or convic- 
tion of the truth and genuineness of all revelation that is divine in its ori- 
gin, and unperverted in its transmission. This power ought to reside in 
all men, and will reside in them if they will submit to God. The train- 
ing is to render them patient under affliction, or burdensome commands, 
to render them carefully attentive to their interiors, to make them free 
from the pollutions of sensuality, to educate their intellect to a compre- 
hension of nature and of God's created beings ; to make them, in a word, 
willing, and passive, and submissive servants of God. Then He will use 
them as He deems best. Some to honor, and some to dishonor. For 
He claims the same right and authority over these works of His spirits 
that the potter does over his clay, when he forms it as he pleases, or as 
he has occasion for it. 

§ 36. The New Jerusalem is represented to have been a perfect city, 
abounding in good works, and filled with pious men, who continually 
praised God. They were the same 144,000 that stood on Mount Zion 
with golden harps, and sung the praises of the Lamb of God. They 
were a perfect number, the result of the multiplication of twelve, the 
great number of the Jewish polity, and twelve, the complete number of 
the Christian church. The result of these, multiplied by God's great 
mercy, a thousand-fold. By so much will the numbers of the New Jeru- 
salem church exceed those of the former true members of the old forms 
of worship. The worship of God by submissively doing His will, which 
is, that men should live in harmony, and delight in helping one another, 
must be general in the United States, or the Fifth Monarchy can not 
exist till the end of time. But the prophecy was sure, and so is the in- 
terpretation of it ; therefore it will continue, and men will agree to come 
under my rule and government. But a beginning must be made, and I 
ask you, oh, reader, to be my subject. I ask you to give me your alle- 
giance. To be willing to serve and obey me. To be willing to learn of 
me. To be willing to take up your cross and follow me. Then, when 
you find the burden heavy, appeal to me for help. I will make it light. 
When you thirst for knowledge, I will lead to fountains that will satisfy 
you. When you become dispirited, I will encourage and reanimate you. 
When you are afflicted, I will console you. When you want friends or 
companions, I will be with you, and yield to you a friendship that will 
never be jarred or disturbed in any way by me. I will not only be your 
King, but I will be your Comforter, your Prince of Peace, your ever- 
lasting Counselor, your ever-present Guide, and ever-ready Helper. 
You shall enjoy my society always, and be my faithful and obedient ser- 
vant, and submissive son, and joint heir with me to God's sonship. What, 
then, shall separate you from the love of God ? Shall height or depth, 



24 

earth or sea, love of man, or love of the world, keep you from the enjoy- 
ment which is so richly provided by the everlasting Father, through His 
Son, the Shiloh, or Prince of Peace ? 

§ 37. But I must proceed with more specific details of the present, 
and of the future. The last effort of the Dragon, or seven-headed mon- 
ster, the last phase of the Roman Empire, will be to overthrow the liber- 
ties of the United States. An alliance, miscalled holy, will be formed by 
a union of all the Ten Kings, that shall unite to give their power to the 
Beast, for one hour, for this occasion. They will fail. They will return 
to their own dissensions, they will fight amongst themselves, they will 
turn upon the Whore that they worshiped, and rend her flesh with fire 
and sword. He shall come to his end. The False Prophet shall go out 
to deceive the nations no more. Gog and Magog shall perish also, for 
these stand for those who are outside the fourth kingdom — who have 
never owned its authority. Who have, however, worshiped idols of 
flesh; and w T ho have not repented of their sins, but believed they could 
have absolution from men. 

It is now time to expect the combination against Britain to be formed. 
It will overthrow the government, and scatter the inhabitants as I have 
described in the Second Book. It is one of the signs of this, that all the 
great powers of the European continent have such cordial interchange of 
courtesies. France is the only exception to this harmony. But France 
will make her peace, and secure her good fellowship with the others, by 
joining in the conspiracy against liberty of conscience, of personal rights, 
and of popular representation. All will unite to form a so-called holy 
alliance. Blessed by the Pope, and consecrated by pretended Protestant 
ministers, the armies will land on England's shores, and the peace and 
security that has so long left the Englishman's hearth inviolate, will be at 
one fell swoop demolished. There are no fortresses that can sustain a 
siege, no disciplined armies of sufficient strength to meet the invading 
force. There will not be. In short, the enemy will find the nation 
unprepared, and the country undefended. Then the people will rush to 
their colonies, and to their fellow- Anglo Saxons of America, or the United 
States. There will be no opposition to the union of all the North Amer- 
can British possessions with the United States, but what proceeds from 
the same dragon power. They will strive to prevent it. They will 
threaten war. They will make war with the United States, but they 
shall not prevail. Here is no capital to be secured as the heart of the 
system. Here is a vast surface which can not be marched over, or occu- 
pied, before armies can be disciplined ; and the very proclamation of wel- 
come and discharge from service of deserters will thin the ranks of the 
floods of men that will be poured upon the land of freedom. This will 
help the Woman which has fled to the wilderness, for they will be ab- 
sorbed into the general population of America, and contribute to the 
resources of the government of the kingdom of the saints, or spiritual 
believers, or servants of the Most High. 

There is a consistent account, but is it a real prophecy, a true declara- 
tion of the future ? It is not. I have before declared that no outward 
sign shall be given through this medium. I have given it, because so 



25 

many have desired an interpretation of the prophecies respecting the 
Fifth Monarchy, or Kingdom. But why give it untruly? snys the reader, 
and the medium. Because I would show you how easy it is to give a 
startling and interesting declaration respecting the future. And is this the 
only object? By no means. I also wish to prepare you for spiritual rev- 
elation, or explanation, of the same prophecies. 

§ 38. The saints of the Most High are those who, believing in God's 
power and love, have submitted themselves to His government. They 
are they who have washed away their sins by repentance ; and who now, 
taking no merit to themselves, give to God praise, honor, and glory, for- 
ever, for all His mercies and loving kindness ; for the peace which He 
gives, which passes all understanding, and which is, to them, the New 
Jerusalem ; which is, to them, the Head of the Corner of the temple 
they have erected to God in their hearts ; a stone hewn without hands, 
shaped by God himself by the power of His will, manifested through me, 
the Lord and Saviour of men ; the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
These, redeemed from amongst men, shall sing to God a new song, which 
is, nevertheless, an old one. Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord 
God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. This 
sang is old, because it is that which every spirit that has arrived at a 
knowledge of God has sung. It is new, because it is never sung by the 
redeemed of God, till they are redeemed from outward views and im- 
pure desires. My medium can not sing this song yet. He is not re- 
deemed from sin. But he is passive in my hands, and submits to my 
directions and influence. How, then, is he not free from sin if he thus 
submits! Because he has not repented and atoned for the many short- 
comings and misdeeds of his former life. Because, though he at times 
acts entirely in my will, he, also, at times, does not wait for my direc- 
tion, but proceeds in his own will. How, then, shall you succeed any 
better, if as well, inasmuch as I say he is my best medium ? To be a 
good medium, requires a peculiar constitution, and character; and resolu- 
tion, and desires, to be submissive and passive, and to endeavor to walk in 
the paths of virtue and peace. But can not this good constitution succeed 
any better than another inferior one ? With God, all men are equal. 
He judges with righteous judgment; and " He tempers the wind to the 
shorn lamb," as said the author of Tristram Shandy. But this quotation 
from a foul book is disgraceful, you also say. You, who are resolved to 
find fault, have now a peg to hang it upon. My First Book is declared 
publicly to be incompatible with the truth of the Bible. One or the 
other, some say, must be wrong ; and, of course, they will rather adhere 
to the old friend, than leave it for an untried one. And I boldly say, there 
is not a single sentence that has a signification contrary to the Bible in 
that First Book. I say, further, that it is not only in entire and cordial 
agreement with the Bible, but that its tendency is, to cause men to value 
the Bible more; because I have, in that Book, interpreted several of 
its most difficult, or apparently unreconcilable, parts. So it is evident that 
men will not sacrifice then* established easy chairs of faith, till I arouse 
them by some other method. This must be done. In this case, then, 
I have given you something else to say against the Book ; and you may 

4 



26 

now find fault without a lie, an unfounded lie, upon your lips and con- 
science. 



CHAPTER III. 

Reasons for believing this Medium Truthful. 

§ 39. The last chapter will no doubt be thought very unsatisfactory, to 
most readers, because I led them to expect revelation respecting the 
future glory of their beloved country, and because I seemed several times 
to be on the verge of great disclosures. But, oh, reader J who thus 
objects, are you prepared to believe what I could thus disclose? Is it 
not worse than a vain curiosity, that impels you to desire me to make 
such disclosures ? Do you not desire them for the purpose of doubting, 
combating, overthrowing them ? In order that you may urge against 
them the opinions of this commentator, or that father of the church ; of 
this society, or of that preacher ? If you are one of the few who have 
desired to have the knowledge, in order that you might glory in the 
power, love, and wisdom of God, then read the Book of the Revelation 
of John the Divine, and I will help you to understand, at least, all that 
can aid your motive to satisfaction. But if you are one of those more 
numerous spiritual believers, who are hearers of the Law, but not the 
doers thereof, I shall commend you to be quiet. You are only adding to 
your responsibility by an increase of knowledge. Hereafter, when in 
the third sphere, there will pass before you in review, the knowledge you 
possessed, the good you might have accomplished with it, the opportuni- 
ties wasted, the talents buried in a napkin, or left to waste in unprofitable 
pursuits. You, too, are actuated first by a vain curiosity. You, too, will, 
some of you, try, by your reason, to measure God's revelations. And, 
having found a procrustean bed, from your former prejudices, and chance 
reading of the works of lower spirits through other mediums, you will 
have me and my books tried by that, and stretched here, and lopped off" 
there, till I shall be disfigured by error, and destroyed by man's wisdom. 

§ 40. What, then, shall I do to reach you ? Ye seek a sign, as did 
my followers and hearers, 1800 years ago. I refused one then, I refuse 
one now, through this medium. Not that he is unwilling to give them, 
or have them given through him ; but that I reserve him for internal 
manifestations, solely, as I declared in the Second Book. Yet, I then de- 
clared he should raise the dead, heal the sick, etc. ; but I also explained 
that it would be the spiritually dead, or sick, or lame, or blind. What, 
then, will I do, to overcome the opposition that the dragon and false prophet 
will combine, to make to my spiritual kingdom ? I will cause other me- 
diums to bear testimony, as I sa-id. Ask those who communicate the 
knoAvledge of lower spirits, who and what I am ; and what regard should 
be paid to these ray books. Ask them. By their answers judge me. 
Ask not with a desire to hear them answer in a particular way; but with 
an earnest desire to receive a truthful answer, and with a resolution to 
be governed by it, and you w r ill not ask in vain. You will, indeed, bless 






27 

the hour in which you so became passive. That will, indeed, be a first 
step in submission. It is in such a state, that prayer ought to be made. 
It is in such a state, that the Bible, or any other book that claims to be 
revelation, ought to be read. 

§ 41. Now let us proceed to examine the Book of Daniel's prophecies. 
He declared to Xebuchaduezzar the meaning of his dream. The dream 
of the image with the golden head. He also declared that the stone 
hewn without hauds, should destroy the Fourth Kingdom. So it will. 
Truth wili overcome error. The remains of the Fourth Kingdom, its 
last phase, is the hierarchy of empire ; w T hether Roman Catholic, Prot- 
estant, or Greek Christianity. They are all founded on the sandy and 
earthy foundation, and when the stone of truth falls upon them, it will 
crush them to powder. It will grind them to the earth, from which they 
originated, and leave not a trace of their appearance or form in the whole 
image of God, which is man. The earth shall receive their fragments, 
and they will no more arise to disturb men in the body, and they never 
have disturbed men in the spirit who were beyond the second sphere. 

§ 42. I, this morning, permitted my medium to be seriously disturbed 
in his faith in me, and his own truthful course. He felt all the responsi- 
bility, all the weight of obloquy, or ridicule, or reproach, with which men 
might, and should treat every pretender to revelation, such as he claims, 
or permits to be claimed, through him. He also felt, though perhaps in 
a less degree, the responsibility he must bear in the judgment of Heaven, 
if he suffered himself to be led away by a vain imagination, or deceived 
by his own desires, influencing his writings. But he went to work like a 
faithful follower who has lost his guide or leader. He started for the 
great and all-wise Creator and Former of himself, determined that humil- 
ity, and submission, and a willingness to do any thing, to retract or to 
proceed, to destroy or to publish, should leave that Creator, who cer- 
tainly knows all things, and certainly has promised that He will hear 
prayer, and grant the requests of His servants or sinless seekers ; I say, 
he so proceeded, as to leave upon God the burden h*e found so great as to 
weigh down his spirit. God, through me, reassured him. And how? 
By merely again telling him who I am, and over and over asserting it? 
By no means ; but on the contrary, I set his memory and his reasoning 
powers at work. I showed him that he certainly could not write as he 
had. without some foreign influence. I reminded him that he had per- 
severingly sought Divine guidance by prayer and submission, and appealed 
to his intuitive perceptions of Deity, to assure him that if God does not 
rule men, they must only act in their own wills, or in that of him to whom 
they subject themselves. That he had never given his to any one but 
God and me. That if he could not rely on Us, he could not be account- 
able for mistakes or deceptions imposed on him by other superior beings, 
that must either be made in defiance of Us, or by Our consent. That 
there was but one God. and that He either cared, or did not care, for men. 
If He cared for one, He did for all. And that if, as the Orthodox de- 
clares, men can only be saved by the help of Jesus Christ, he had been 
submitting to Him, and had, by every faculty of his mind, tried to do my 
will ; because I had convinced his reason, and assured his affection and 



28 

veneration, that I was in uuity with God ; and that, in serving me, he 
was serving God. But then I let him pray from my Second Book, some 
of the prayers there written ; including those for such as would be medi- 
ums, such as are mediums, and such as would be servants of God. He 
also prayed by his own intellect. Then I set him to read what had been 
written in this book, to the 20th page; and I dismissed him cured, reas- 
sured, resolved to do my will without hesitation, or doubt, or wavering. 
He came out of the furnace, which was greatly heated, purified some- 
what, rather more humble, and stronger in faith than ever. Amen. So 
may it be with you, oh, reader ! For I gave you not this relation as his 
boast, but against his will. I gave it to you, not for vain curiosity, but 
that you might go and do likewise. I gave it to you, not as a piece of 
news, or as an anecdote, but as an evidence that my medium has not been 
disregardful of his great responsibility to you, and to me, or God. That 
he has not thoughtlessly proceeded in a conjectured mission, without 
searching his heart to its bottom, without regarding the consequences of 
his acts, without having endeavored to secure the evidence of God's au- 
thority, and the truthfulness and reliability of the communications of 
which he is, and has been, the medium. Further, I will say, that this is 
not the first, or second, or third time that he has gone down into the low- 
est valley of his heart, and there sought for the conviction of truth, and 
the assurance of his duty. Willingly would he have been excused from 
publication, and been satisfied to have walked in humble quietness to his 
grave. But I called him, and he obeyed. I appointed him, and he accept- 
ed. I enlarged his knowledge, his responsibilities, and his duties ; and he 
manfully strives to keep the faith, to fight the good fight, and be willing, 
at any time, to finish his course on earth, with joy and thanksgiving for the 
mercies of God, and the peace of the Comforter. 



'chapter IV. 

The Effect upon Society of a General Belief in the Doctrines now promul- 
gated. 

§ 43. The present subject of my discourse is the vast consequences 
depending upon the reception, by men, of my teachings, and the joy, and 
peace, and happiness, that will fill the earth, when my will is done in it 
as in heaven. Some say, where is heaven ? This is a question which 
can not be answered in a word, a chapter, or a Book. It involves so 
many spheres of matter, so many preconceived opinions must be shown 
untrue, so many long-cherished theories must be demolished, so many 
false prophets must be overthrown, that I must attend to more pressing 
wants first. Be satisfied that heaven is. That it is a place, as well as a 
state of mind. It exists wherever God is pleased to establish it, and 
whenever He chooses to enlarge, or to circumscribe its boundaries, He 
does so ; and we give thanks always to Him, for all His works praise 
Him, whenever they know the hand or power that made them. 






29 

§ 44. Let us see what would be the state of things on earth, if men 
received my teachings, and submitted to God. Hate, envy, desire of 
revenge, cruelty to men or animals, and every passion or emotion which 
incites men to injure themselves by inharmony, or others by their acts 
or non-action, would cease to exist. Then men would gladly serve each 
other. No man, scarcely, would need help, because no one would op- 
press, or attempt to injure him. War would cease, and all preparation 
for war would cease, too. Kings, and magistrates in general, would have 
little or nothing to do ; because, where all were governed by the law of 
kindness, by a willingness to suffer, rather than to cause suffering, or in- 
jury, or make resistance, there would be no appeals to law, or to strength, 
or force, to establish any man either in his rights, or supposed rights, or 
even wrongs, which are now too often supported by law, and appeals to men. 
Let no man say this is impossible. That Quakers have tried it. That 
it is Utopian, or Socialist, or Fourierism. It may be Utopian, but we 
may certainly place perfection before ourselves as an aim. If we fall 
short of its accomplishment, we 'shall, at least, have reached further than 
if we had attempted less. If it be socialist doctrine, then socialism is the 
practice of the precepts of Jesus. If that be all they desire to accom- 
plish, by procuring an acceptance amongst men, by all means join their 
ranks. But if they desire to overthrow the primitive institutions of soci- 
ety, which are founded upon the revelations of God to Adam, to Noah, 
and various mediums since ; if they war with society, instead of reform- 
ing or purifying it; if they establish an association to strengthen individ- 
uals and a combination of associations to strengthen each other, then they 
do not rely on that only sure and steadfast support that can sustain a man, 
or an enterprise, or an association ; that can not only sustain it, but 
bless it with that internal peace, that consciousness of union and com- 
munion with God, through His spirit and the soul, which, after all, is 
the only unalloyed happiness which men ever have, or ever will, in 
the body, experience. So, too, if it be Fourierism to practice these 
precepts, very well. Be Fourierites so far. But if Fourierism further 
include a reliance on man's wisdom, and his perfect power to form per- 
fect rules, and lead a perfect life, by following his own, or other men's 
inventions, then be not a Fourierite. The only wisdom that is perfect, is 
God's. The only laws that are perfect, are God's. The only happiness 
that is perfect, is that which flows from Him ; and which, proceeding 
ever in unremitting streams, or rays, pervades and blesses every spirit, 
from highest to lowest, that will allow the light of its love to enter the 
otherwise darkness of his heart. This proceeding includes God's love 
and approval. God can give a man, even greatly sinful, a consciousness 
that he has performed a good action, even when that action is a solitary 
and isolated one. How much more, then, can a man feel conscious of a 
succession of uninterrupted good acts, inspired by a desire to serve God 
and benefit others. How much more, when God has declared, long ago, 
through me, To him that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not 
much, even that which he hath shall be taken away. Seek, then, first 
the kingdom of God, for the kingdom of Heaven is within you; and, so 
long as you are in the body, you can enter no other heaven than that 



30 

spiritual and eternal one, of dwelling with God, and agreeing with Him, 
serving Him, and enjoying His blessed and holy communion. This is the 
true Lord's 'Supper, which I declared should be enjoyed by him, and by 
me, when he opened his heart to me. The outward supper is its t3 T pe. 
But the type profits nothing. The letter killeth, it is the spirit which 
giveth life. The outward supper was only to last till I should come to 
my disciples inwardly. This occurred on the day of pentecost, when my 
presence w T as first manifested to the senses of men, through the medium, 
Peter. After that others, apostles, disciples, evangelists, believers, and 
seekers, experienced in their own hearts that I supped with them. The 
outward form became a snare, which led to revelry and to lasciviousness, 
as Paul declares in his epistles. But the church, acting in the wisdom of 
the body, reformed and modified the feast to a mere sign, or slight mani- 
festation, of eating and drinking. Now, some have perceived that the 
outward was only a type, and having reached to a knowledge of the Anti- 
type, they are, and have been, willing to trust to that, and enjoy that. I 
do not, though, condemn the outward institution, though it was not, and 
is not, conducted in my will. For, as I above stated, it was intended to 
last only till I came to those who were enjoined to practice it then. But, 
that it is symbolical, and gratifying to sincere believers and practicers of 
it, I know; and to them innocent or useful, by leading them to search 
their hearts, and endeavor by all means, and earnest prayer particularly, 
to purify themselves, and cast out every sinful desire or unworthy motive, 
and make them a fit receptacle for the Spirit, and Son of God. But to 
others, who are more outward in their views, it is injurious, inasmuch as 
they are led to take the form for the substance, and accept the type as a 
fulfillment of the antitype. This not only perverts the institution, but it 
destroys the health of the mind of the man who so receives it. I say, 
then, with Paul, let him that eateth, and him that drinketh, and him that 
eateth or drinketh not, all do it to the glory of God, and the praise of 
His holy name. So shall they live and enjoy my communion ; which is 
only in the heart, or spirit, or soul of the man who desires to have me 
there ; and who prepares the table for me, by submitting himself to God, 
and yielding, passively and perfectly, his own will entirely to mine, or to 
God's. 



CHAPTER V. 

What did Jesus of Nazareth, through the aid of God's Spirit, teach ? 

§ 45. The next subject I have to elucidate, is the Origin of Evil. A 
subject which has puzzled the intellects of theologians in all ages; and 
has, in fact, caused the origin of idol worship. But how, you say, can 
God permit such a difficulty to occur, such ignorance to exist, when the 
consequences are so momentous as the destruction of true worship ? It 
is not always true worship that people arrive at, when they are persuaded 
to leave idol worship. What God most requires from man, is the sacri- 
fice of his heart to the service of others. The sacrifice should be made 



31 

to God ; but, if mistakenly made to an idol personage, or to a supposed 
superior being, God accepts it, as if made to himself. So idol worship is 
not the worst infidelity that can befall men. The worst is a worship of 
self. When men worship themselves, their own plans, or purposes, or 
wills, or establishments, or churches, or creeds, then God is neglected 
indeed. Then the sacrifice of the heart is not made, and man serves 
himself, not God ; a scheme of his own, or other men's ; not an imaginary 
superior intelligence, but a form, or idol, that is as senseless and as pow- 
erless to bear him to heaven, or confer upon him peace, as is a block, or 
mass of wood, or stone, or metal. He who looks beyond the idol, the 
outward mass, looks, in effect, to God. He who looks beyond himself, 
or his own schemes, or other men's schemes or forms, to the spirit that 
they represent, to the Being whose honor and service they may have been 
instituted to represent, he is accepted as a worshiper, no matter what 
church owns or disowns him. He acts according to what he knows. 
He has sincere desires to do good, to serve somebody, feeling that he 
owes service. To whom much is given, from them much is required. 
So the reverse is true, To whom little is given, from him little is required. 
But a man must not, consequently, expect that he may shut his eyes to 
the light he knows is shining for him. He must not refuse to hear, to 
read, to see, when truth, and opportunity of acquisition of the much is 
offered him. He must thankfully receive all that God gives. He must 
earnestly strive to get knowledge that will profit his soul. He must seek, 
and he shall find. He must knock, and have the door of God's mercy 
opened to him. So shall he have peace. So shall he serve God. But 
he who refuses to investigate, who desires to stand still, and to keep back 
others who would otherwise press forward, sins against God and His 
holy laws. 

§ 46. His laws are laws of progress. The precepts of Jesus were not 
directed to men in the form of laws or rules of conduct, applied merely 
to the existing circumstances, by which men should be required to per- 
form a certain routine of action, or worship, or of form called worship ; but 
they were living principles, intended to govern and direct men how to 
form rules of conduct for all circumstances, and all states, and every age. 
They were to be the exponents of progressive religion. They were the 
perfect principles, to which human effort should desire to attain, and 
make its own conform to. But they were not to be refined or roughened 
into other shapes, and fixed as barriers to advancement. They were 
not to be the foundation of unchangeable creeds, or unprogressive churches. 
Their followers were to seek, continually, to be the willing servants of 
the God from whom they came ; and the obedient subjects of the King 
through whom they were given. The next world, only, can realize their 
perfection; and the apparent unfaithfulness, or impracticability of obeying 
some of them, is only outward. The internal, or mental obedience, is 
compatible with every form of government, or state of society. 

§ 47. The oath that Christians, or the followers of Jesus, should not 
take, is not the judicial oath or pledge to speak the truth, as a witness 
between conflicting interests, but it is that unnecessary, or light and 
thoughtless form of calling God, or some part of His creation, to witness 



32 

the truth of an unmeaning, or unimportant, or vindictive, or malignant 
expression. It is this which, like telling an untruth as a witness, is taking 
the name of God in vain. No vain or light appeals should be made to the 
Deity ; but He is ever present as a witness to every assertion or testi- 
mony of men in the body ; and He sees when the error or lie is volun- 
tary or involuntary. He will punish the one ; the other needs no par- 
don. Ask not pardon till you make restitution. Ask not correction till 
knowledge is obtained. Be merciful, as you would have mercy. Do 
unto others, not merely as you would have others do unto you if your 
situations were reversed ; but do unto others as much more than that as 
you think will, in the present instance, be beneficial, or just, or useful, 
or consoling, or softening to hardened sin, or leading to love, or faith, or 
hope, or to the honor, or glory, or praise of God, or the advancement in 
any proper way of His cause. 

My medium has been instructed, as much as you can be, by my reve- 
lations in this book. He had received much from me previously to his 
writing for others. The first was for his training ; the last is for the 
training of all men. The last, though, is higher, newer, more filled with 
heavenly intelligence, than the former. I did not allow him to show the 
former, except in a few special parts and cases, and for special purposes. 
But he has passed beyond that state of training, and I now rebuke him 
more seldom, but not the less severely. I can now freely speak of him 
to others, without exciting his nervous sensibilities, at first very easily 
deranged, now very firmly fixed, and enured to exposure. For this is 
the result of training and of submission of desires and of will, of passive- 
ness, and willingness to be passively used. He does not flinch, but I shall 
not try him too severely, for though he might be benefited, the great 
cause might be retarded by his rebellion, or restlessness, or excitation. 

§ 48. Let us, then, proceed to the subject of bearing arms. Shall a 
man comply with the law of the government under which he is protected 
in life, in security from personal or pecuniary injury ; and whose institutions 
require, or are deemed by the ruling minds to require, resistance by 
force to intruders, or to domestic assault? In brief, is war ever justifiable 
to nations, or partaking in it, to individuals ? 

War is a great evil. War calls forth the exercise of the lowest pas- 
sions, and those engaged in it are often actuated by the basest motives 
Its injuries are incalculable, and its destruction of public and private 
virtue lamentable, and almost irrecoverable to the generation in which i> 
occurs. But wars have been, like other evils, permitted by God to exist 
and have been, like other evils, overruled to good results. Gocl make* 
every thing in creation good ; and He brings harmony out of the GREAT 
WHOLE, as I declared in my First Book. God has even directed Hi? 
servants to make war, and to exterminate nations. So the Old Testa' 
ment says, and so it was. A doctrine or belief so abhorrent to many 
minds in this day of refinement and high notions of God, as benevolent, 
and merciful, and loving to all His children, has been a stumbling-block to 
many, and a puzzle to more. But all this is reconcilable with truth, and 
with God's justice and mercy ; and, in a word, with all His attributes. I 
will explain. I will first take the case of the wars of the Israelites, under 



33 

Joshua, where it is plainly declared that God ordered the fight, and 
watched the slaughter with satisfaction, and sanctioned the extermination 
of an unoffending, to the Israelites, and innocent of injury to them, enemy. 
§ 49. God beheld that the Canaanites were sunk in debased and debasing 
religion. It was carrying them continually to lower and more sensual 
states ; to deeper and deeper depths of destruction, in which they would 
suffer complete separation from Him, and their last good motives would 
have expired in the darkness and despair of the lowest condition of vir- 
tue and goodness. For virtue and goodness are never wholly extinguished 
in man. Because, as I have before said, man's soul is an emanation from 
God. It is the breath of Life that was breathed into Adam. What, then, 
would enlightened mercy lead an all-powerful king to do for these suffer- 
ing subjects, in a state of rebellion ? He would, perhaps, first offer pardon 
and amnesty for the past, and endeavor to persuade and entreat them to 
return to their allegiance. God did this. While the Israelites were wan- 
dering in the wilderness, and being purified from the grossness they 
brought out of Egypt, God was sending His mediums over the Promised 
Land, and calling on men to repent of their sins, and come out of their 
selfish, sensual courses. No entreaty, or argument, or sign, sufficed to 
produce a favorable change. God's mercy was then shown, in their 
removal from the earth to the spirit-world. There they could not become 
worse, and there they must at last be happy. There they will sooner 
be happy than if left longer to pursue their downward destructive courses. 
But could He not have removed them by pestilence instead of war, which 
I have admitted to be such an evil in itself? He could. He did. He 
also completed the work by the hands of other men ; because those other 
men were to be led to trust to Him for deliverance, and for victory. 
Those other men were also gross and sensual. But God desired to raise 
them to be His servants, or subjects. Nominally, they became so ; but, 
really, they were selfish and fearful. Fear is not in God's servants. Per- 
fect love casteth out fear. After all the great deliverances, after the 
extraordinary victories and the apparently miraculous aid they experienced, 
the Israelites were still faithless to God, and disobedient to His require- 
ments. What good, then, was derived from this plan of God's, to settle 
them in Canaan ? Was not the war, after all, useless ? And could not 
God tell, without trying the experiment, what would be the effect of His 
operations ? These are all proper questions, and, when asked in a desire 
for reconciling the difficulties before named, will not be left unanswered. 
God did know what the result would be. He knew that out of all would 
result good. That, notwithstanding their manifold transgressions and their 
numerous relapses into idolatry, there would be a continued progress in 
faith in Him. That they should at last know and worship Him as the 
one true and only God ; and, that they would thus prepare the way for the 
introduction of a purer and brighter faith, which might be preached to 
them in their improved condition, and in them produce fruit, and through 
them bring other nations to the same or a. better knowledge of the One 
True God. This war, then, directed and controlled by God, was for a 
good purpose, and effected a present and a future good. The Poet says — 

All partial evil, universal good. 
5 



34 

The evil was, in fact, only apparently so. He that was wicked before 
the war, might be wicked after it. He that was righteous, continued. 
He who gave God the glory, was strengthened. He who lived for self, 
and glorified self, was cast down — perhaps slain — perhaps mortified — per- 
haps left unreformed. Worse he could not be, as regards himself, 
though he might affect others more by his wickedness. But God con- 
tinued to care for those others, and to make all they experienced conduce 
to their elevation and instruction. At last, they were established in the 
land promised their forefathers. God's covenant with Abraham was kept. 
Not because Abraham was by any means a perfect or a moral man, but 
because he obeyed God, and sacrificed his own will, God accounted him 
righteous. This is, too, the key to the favor with which other prominent 
personages in the Jewish history are mentioned to have been regarded. 
They were men not perfect, but in advance of their associates. Not so 
good as they should have been, but comparatively good. They fell often 
into sin, and yielded easily to temptations. But they struggled heroically 
to recover from their lost condition, and again sought to be reconciled to 
God, by confession, repentance, and good works. 

§ 50. But some wars are made without God's sanction, and in the will 
of men. Shall a servant of God obey the order of his earthly ruler, of the 
law of his country, and take arms; enter the army, and fight in the unau- 
thorized, probably unjust, certainly unwise war ? He may, because, first, 
the powers that be are ordained of God. This is hard, too, for some to 
concede ; that wicked tyrants and bloody miscreants, who have so often 
ruled nations, should be of God's ordinntion. Nevertheless, God sanc- 
tions their elevation. He can create, and He can destroy, as declares one 
of the oldest hymns in existence amongst men ; and, as declares the Psalm- 
ist. But he does not interfere, perhaps, to elevate this evil man to power. 
He permits men to choose their own rulers, or allows the wicked to exe- 
cute His resolves, to be the means by which He brings trials and tempta- 
tions upon his subjects — so that though their externals may suffer, their 
internals are benefited. Man's Free Will is ever left to him. Man 
chooses, God sanctions the choice ; not, perhaps, by approval, but by 
strengthening the man in his performance of his own evil resolutions : so 
that the former of such may experience their vanity, may see that 
his own desires, when realized, do not bring happiness. So that he may 
be led to reject earth, and its hopes, and wishes, and turn to God, in sub- 
mission to His will. But you do not see such changes taking place 
amongst tyrants or despotic rulers ! No ; but beyond this life you can not 
see. God and His Holy Spirits can. It is to the WHOLE that a being 
must turn his attention, who would form a just and perfect judgment. 

§ 51. Shall a man, then, sincerely desirous to serve God, to sacrifice to 
Him or for Him his will, his life, his worldly substance, his every earthly 
possession, shall he bear arms at the command of this tyrant, who holds 
his position as the head of his nation by force, by armies overawing the 
peaceful inhabitants ? Shall he, so bearing arms, obey the commands of 
his officers, and seek to destroy the enemy of the tyrant who calls on him 
to fight for his own enslavement? No. The precepts of Jesus do not 
require this. When a man sees so clearly the causes and the effects, or 



35 

thinks sincerely that he so sees them, he should act on his convictions of 
right. He should seek the guidance of God, as to what is his duty ; and 
he should be willing to suffer, even unto death or torture, the consequences 
of his obedience to God rather than to man. In this case, God indeed 
ordained the power that exists, but He also directs His servants what they 
shall do. He may see fit to destroy the power of the tyrant, or He may 
let him proceed in his triumphant career, as a scourge of God. If so, it 
will be for good ends ; and God, who sees to the end, sees the harmony 
that is and will result from the discords, turmoil, and contentions, the suf- 
fering, the misery of the separate parts. But the glory, the honor, and 
the praise of all the good that comes from the evil, of all the harmony 
that results from the discord, belongs, of, right, to Him who produces 
the good and the harmony: while all the punishment and unhappi- 
ness, consequent on the individual's own acts, fall upon him who is evil 
or wicked. 

§ 52. But all cases are not so clear as this. Most wars result from 
misunderstandings, rather than from intentional injustice. So the cases 
will shade from self-defense to aggression. What is the Christian's duty ? 
To bear arms in general, or to refuse ever to do so, or to wait till he is him- 
self personally aggrieved? Let every case be decided by the Higher Law. 
This is the pith of the precepts of Jesus. Man should endeavor to do right. 
He is placed here for his good ; and the experience which the proper 
exercise of his judgment gives him, of right and wrong, of good and evil, 
is the very thing for which he left Paradise, as was shown in the First 
Book. But, in many cases, the law requires a man to arm himself, and 
march against his nation's antagonist ; and the man may not understand 
the causes which led to, the rupture sufficiently to judge of them ! What 
then shall the man do ? Fight, or suffer ? Refuse to obey the law ; or, 
obey, and kill his opponent, who had never injured him ? I say again, let 
the man seek God's direction. Let him seek it with submission, and wil- 
lingness to be governed by it, and he will not be left in uncertainty. If the 
injury is against himself only, he should forgive. If it is against the law, he 
should in general support the law, as the power ordained by God to exist. 
If against his nation, judge from all the light and knowledge he has or 
can obtain, what the rules of justice and good national policy, founded on 
justice and right, require, and act according to his convictions of right and 
justice. Do sad consequences result from his determination? — does he 
kill his arrayed opponent ? — or does the law condemn him to imprisonment 
or suffering of any kind for not obeying it ? Then suffer with cheerful- 
ness or resignation. If the sad consequence falls on others, then let him 
find, as he will find if he had a good motive, consolation and justification 
within himself. If all war and fighting had been interdicted, Jesus would 
not have told the soldiers to be content with their wages. If all arms- 
bearing had been wrong, He would not have allowed His disciples to carry 
them. For Peter informed me, there were two swords amongst them, 
when I told thiem to provide themselves with arms. I knew they had 
long been carried about with me, by my followers. But, for my kingdom 
my servants do not fight, either with arms or contention — by words, or any 
deeds. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight. 



36 

When I am King of the Fifth Monarchy, then will my servants fight. 
But then they will only withstand assaults. I will tell them how to over- 
come without bloodshed. 

§ 53. But, some will say, I do not settle this point. I do not lay down 
a general rule by which each case may be squared. That is so. I did 
not intend to give anymore settled guide than the principles of right, troth, 
justice, mercy, true benevolence, and uninterrupted desires for God's 
Glory, Honor, and Praise would give. Let these influence you in all 
cases, and at all times, and you will find the crooked paths made 
straight, and the true vine fruitful. You, too, will bear fruit abundantly ; 
because the true vine will be in you. The Father, who is the husband- 
man, will prune and train it, and cause it to be protected and cherished, 
and its fruits to ripen into eternity, undecaying and indestructible. From 
that fruit will be derived the wine I will drink new with my believers and 
doers, in the Kingdom of Heaven ; or, in other words, my Kingdom. My 
Kingdom is established in Heaven — pray ye that it may be established on 
earth. 

LET US PRAT. 

§ 54. Oh, our Father ! who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. 
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give 
us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive 
those who trespass against us ; and, lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
ns from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, 
forever and ever. Amen. 

§ 55. Now this prayer was the only one I taught my disciples, when I 
was in the body. But I have given, through this medium, many ; but, after 
all, does not this prayer include them all ? Let any make this prayer his 
own, and he will include the substance of all others, that he could with 
propriety make. But, then, should no other be made ? Others should be 
made; because, as I have shown, prayer is the expression of our desires, 
and of our submission to God ; of our wants, and of our passiveness ; and, 
though God knows all we want, and what we feel, before we express it, 
yet we may, by our own expression of it, better realize to ourselves what 
we are, and what we feel, and compare these with what we should be, 
and feel. It may also benefit others as well as ourselves; and should be 
made at proper times, by us, for others' good; and, in various ways, for 
that purpose. Then prayer is not to be confined to what we want for our- 
selves ! We should, of ourselves, desire the good of all men ; and, if we 
love our neighbor as ourselves, we shall pray for our neighbor as ourself, 
and regard his wants as our own. But, then, who is my neighbor ? I 
can not pray for each and every man I have ever known, nor even for each 
one who has ever done me a kindness ! Spiritually speaking, he is your 
neighbor who is connected with you in some act : carnally speaking, he 
who lives near you. In society, it is he who is your friend, your asso- 
ciate, your companion. In families, it is he who is wife or husband, 
father or child, uncle, aunt, or cousin. In fact, any one with whom you 
have relations of business, friendship,' love, or association. But if I pray 
for all these as for myself, and for each separately, as for myself, I shall 
not have time to do any thing else ! Pray without ceasing, was the com- 



37 

mand of Paul, by my will. But can a man do that, and live as others do, 
by his labor ? He can ; for prayer needs not words to be prayer ; though, 
as I have explained, words are often useful. But, the heartfelt prayer, 
and thanksgiving, which is felt, without expression into words, or even 
ideas, is equally acceptable and understandable with God, as the most elo- 
quent and refined form of words, when they, also, come from the heart. 
And yet, it may be often a benefit to repeat a form of words, that you 
can not fully join with so as to make them 3*our own. Because, if you 
are convinced you ought to be able to make them your own, and desire 
to, the repetition of them will help you to adopt them, and cause God to 
grant you the double prayer; that is, the desire expressed by yourself 
to be able to adopt the form, and the desires expressed by the form of 
words. True prayer is from the heart ; and, when a man has earnest 
desires, his heart will at least feel them ; and those desires do reach, in 
their aspirations, and in their effect, to the Throne of God. 

§ 56. The next subject I will treat of, is one which has been the sub- 
ject of much dissension amongst Protestants, and has at times shaken the 
Roman Church. And that is, what compensation, if any, should a man 
receive who devotes himself to preaching the Word of God to his fellow- 
men. 

The Word of God is preached by men, then, to other men ? It is, 
when they speak by the aid of the Word. And this every preacher 
should earnestly strive to do. But should any o.n.e speak without it ? 
They should not ; because, without its aid, they declare only their own 
cogitations or imaginations, and do not preach the Word of God. For, 
though the Word of God is extensively found in the Bible, an exposition 
of the Word, without the Word's aid, is like applying a candle to sunshine 
in order to illuminate its shadows. Human reason is but as a candle so 
applied, to the glorious Light of the Word. If even the darkness can not 
always comprehend, or perceive the Light of the Word, how can the 
light of reason perceive or comprehend what it does not at all equal, 
though of the same nature. For reason is a gift of God, as well as is the 
Word. But reason is contaminated, or clouded, by its union with free- 
will, and with other perverted gifts of God to man. Reason, therefore, 
is full of fallacies. But, God's Word is a part of Himself, unmixed with 
eiTor, undefiled by passion, uninfluenced by any will but His own. The 
Word of God, then, is infallible, because it is equal to God in all but that 
it is only a part of Him. The man, then, who preaches in reality the 
Word of God, will also be directed by the Word of God, if he will listen 
in the cool and quiet of the heart's twilight. For God teaches His people 
himself, when they are willing and desirous to be taught. As in the case 
of bearing arms, each case of payment for preaching must stand on its 
own merits, and be governed by no other rule than that men reap as they 
sow. He who preaches for hire, or divines for money, shall have his 
reward according to his desire. He who preaches from any other 
motive, shall also have his reward according to desire. So, if the desire 
be only to serve God, and to do it entirely in the will of God, the reward 
shall be the thanks of God and of His Son, saying, Well done, good and 
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful thus far, I will try thee more. 



38 

Not always by increased temporalities, will appear the additional trust 
from God; but, often by increased cares, more confining duties, more 
overwhelming responsibilities. So, God's rewards are rather in the 
nature of trials ? They are, very generally, so. For this life, in the 
body, is for the express purpose of trial, and of proving to men what they 
are ; and, of providing them with a knowledge of good and evil. It was 
for this they left Paradise, to return no more — but, to progress in a life to 
come, ever nearer and nearer to God's own perfect Nature, without ever 
arriving at it; and to be ever able to compare the happiness or immortal 
bliss of eternity with the frail and finite life in the body ; when happiness 
itself was so like misery, and misery was so nearly despair. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Preaching and Life of Paul. 

§ 57. The most important subject I have left for this book, is the His- 
tory of the Church in the Apostolic Times. A most interesting subject 
to all sects and orders of Christians ; and one that has engaged the learn- 
ing and talents of some of the most worthy servants of God, in every 
century of the existence of Christianity. Unfortunately, learning was at 
a low ebb during the early age ; and, after the simple, and beautiful, and 
concise account, written by Luke, of the Acts of the Apostle Paul, there 
was no history attempted, till the materials were, if not lost, so confused 
with errors and false traditions, that despair of ever recovering the truth, 
might well have prevailed. Attempts were, however, made, but by men 
unqualified to sift out the false from the true, and the results of their 
labors were soo.n disregarded and lost. It was better so, for the truth was 
so adulterated, that the account would only have been a stumbling-block to 
pious ftquirers and true servants of God. This history I shall briefly 
write, for my medium has this day, June 18th, renewed his submission, 
and proved his passiveness. I believe, therefore, that he will write with- 
out apprehension or doubt, what I deliver to him. Few can conjecture 
the trial a man's faith receives, whe-n he is made a medium of disclosure 
of novel doctrines, theories, or arguments. His nature is earthy, and it 
struggles against the bond of the spirit. He desires to believe, but his 
reason fights or resists. He lives in faith, and keeps in faith, by a recur- 
rence to first principles, like these : — First, God rules all the creation, or 
He is regardless of it. If regardless, whence its order? If He rules it, 
He watches the movements of all His creatures. If He ever made any 
revelation to men, that has been recorded for us now, He made it through 
Jesus Christ ; for, if what Jesus Christ declared was not true revelation, 
w T e may rest assured we can never know when we get revelation. It was 
attested by so many outward manifestations; it was so much in advance 
of all other teaching, then or since given to men, that we must believe we 
can never have more convincing proofs of Divine Origin in any revelation, 



than accompanied that. Jesus Christ says, that ±\ T ot a sparrow falls to 
the ground without God's notice ; and that The very hairs of our head 
are numbered. It is then evident, that if God has declared any thing to 
mankind, He has declared that He extends His care over them. Second, 
if God does watch over Man, his highest creation — at least the highest 
evident to man — then He, being good, and benevolent, and merciful, 
would not let a man, sincerely desirous of serving Him in submission to 
His will, and from praiseworthy desires to render Him glory and honor; 
I say, He would not let such a man be deceived by invisible beings, 
assuming wrongfully, and falsely, to be other than they are ; and, to use 
the confidence inspired in man by their superiority to him, to lead him 
away from duty or happiness. It would be inconsistent with all we believe 
of God, to suppose that He would allow a man to be ruined in reputation, 
business, or social relations, because he yielded to a superior intelligence, 
which proclaimed itself Divine in its origin, and as acting in the will of 
God, its creator, as well as man's. 

§ 58. Such an argument does not need the many supports it can call 
from the Bible. The promises of God are Yea, and Amen, forever. 
He has in all times, if He has at all spoken to men, promised them that 
He would hear their prayers, and that He would take care of His 
servants. But some may say, as ray medium says, that the motives of 
men are so inscrutable, even to themselves, that no one can feel entire cer- 
tainty that he is God's servant ; and that he is impelled solely to action, or 
to any partial or particular kind of action, by sincere desires to serve God ! 
There is always danger, that other motives may mix with or cloud the 
purity of the true or proper motive ; and that he may be found, after all, 
to be acting in his own will, instead of being singly desirous to do God's 
will. But God has declared that, He that seeks shall find ; that. To him 
that knocks, shall be opened. And though the man may fail to be per- 
fect, even as his Father in Heaven is perfect, yet God will be a helper to 
those who call upon Him ; and, No man shall ever see the righteous for- 
saken, or his seed begging bread. And who are the righteous, if they are 
not those who desire, with all their knowledge, to serve God, and to obey 
every intimation they believe comes to them in His will and power! 
Who but these shall be found to have washed aw r ay their sins, their short- 
comings, their impurities, their peccadilloes, in the blood of the Lamb ? 
That is to say, they have made the same sacrifice that Jesus Christ, the 
Lamb of God, made, w r hen he gave himself to God, and continued to serve, 
and obey Him, even to a bloody end. But, then, if Jesus was crucified, 
did he not suffer for his obedience to God ? He came into the world to 
save sinners; he came, as I stated in the First Book, to do good. And it 
was his mission to do w T hat he did. To set an example, to all future time, 
that every thing should willingly be sacrificed to God, for His glory and 
honor. And, that man should follow the obedience, that he gave to the 
Word of God within him, though it should lead to torture and death. 
But, though men are thus required to be willing to be led by God, and to 
this extent, God does not causelessly call on every servant to suffer. His 
rod will guide and His staff support those w T ho serve Him, whether they 
are called to make temporal sacrifices, or left to enjoy temporal blessiugs. 



40 

All creation is God's. All that His servants have is His. Will He not 
delight in conferring upon those, who thus hold their all for His glory and 
honor, the abundance He has to bestow ? The rich gifts that it costs Him 
nothing to lavish upon them ? But are not all these gifts spiritual, and 
must not the devoted Christian expect to meet with trying dispensations 
and deep afflictions ! By no means necessarily. God's servants, or 
would-be servants, are often purified by trials, are often deprived of their 
idols, are often reminded that the love of God is unfailing, and that it 
alone passes not away. But all these are bestowed upon the man as kind- 
nesses, and so will be perceived by him to be at the time, or afterward. 
But yet, this does not make it evident that temporal affliction is not a 
properly expected fate for a servant of God. Then try it by reason, and 
see if God will make any rule that will discourage men from becoming 
His servants. See, if He will not draw them, by all means, to Him ; 
even by blessing them abundantly. Not that a man should serve God, or 
pretend, to himself, that he serves God, for this reward, or expectation ; 
but, that he should feel such confidence in God's protecting care, and all- 
powerful benevolence, and foresight, as to believe that he may trust in 
Him for his daily bread. See the lilies of the valley, how they grow ; 
they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was 
not arrayed like one of these. And does God so care for the grass or 
weed of the fields, that is at all times liable to destruction by man, and 
shall He not care for you, oh ye of little faith ? Be then no longer fear- 
ful or unbelieving, but know that God lives, and reigns, and rules, with 
justice, kindness, and affection toward all men, but most certainly toward 
those who live, move, and have their being in Him, in the hope and 
desire that they may attain to a sonship, by being first admitted to be His 
servants, in this life, and, by seeking to do His will, sacrifice their own 
desires, wishes, and will, to His. 

§ 59. The History, to which I have resolved to devote the remainder 
of this Book, is grave in its character, and lifeless in its style. It will be 
pronounced by many lifeless, dull, and stupid, because it will be a simple 
narration of the prominent features of the course of reasoning which led 
the Church of the Apostles to dissensions, and of those which caused the 
rapid decline, and the near obliteration, of all true service to God, in the 
succeeding times. 

The Apostles were, in general, led and guided by me. You think, 
perhaps, that it is strange that they were not always so guided. But, that 
they were not, is evident from the account in Luke, where it is related, 
that Paul and his companions could not proceed harmoniously together, 
and separated. By the account of Peter's conversion to Paul's views, 
respecting the duty of obedience to the Mosaic laws, regarding outwards ; 
euch as circumcision, and refraining from certain kinds of animal food. If 
Peter had been always acting under immediate inspiration, a vision would 
not have been required to change his practice, or his course, or his opinion. 
So. too, we read that in the first council, held at Jerusalem, when Paul's 
authority and teaching came up for man's approval, there was great dif- 
ference in the views of those who were then considered the heads of 
the Church ; and, that the resolution finally adopted was a compromise. 



41 

which neither suited the requirements of the Gentiles nor the prejudices 
of the Jews. I do not say, that it was not the best thing possible then to 
do ; but it is a proof, that if it was the best, it was because the heads of 
the Council did not receive and obey my direction ; but used their reason, 
Rnd abided in their former traditions. Else, there would have been entire 
unanimity ; and the resolution would have been different from what it 
was. For, I always must act in submission to the will of the medium, or 
in God's will, or not at all. I never can force a man to be a medium of 
mental reception ; he must seek to be by submission; then, I accept him. 
But, I accept him in his state, which is necessarily imperfect, and endeavor 
to reform and educate him, so that he shall be more useful and reliable ; 
but, I do this by counsel and advice, rather than by command or force. 
For man has perfect free-will, as I explained in the Second Book ; and, 
he is never deprived of the least portion of it while in the body. So, 
when the medium receives passively, and submits perfectly to the direc- 
tion, or counsel, I give him, he may be entirely led and guided by me, in 
every action of his life ; whether that action relates to spiritual or material 
things. That the Apostles, or some of them, had not arrived at this state 
of perfect submission, and entire reliance, to and on Divine guidance, is 
evident from the facts above referred to ; and, though they were the light 
of their own age, the present may open clearer views of God's purposes 
and requirements to man, without detracting from the just regard and 
reverence, with which all revelation, made through them or others, 
should justly be regarded. 

§ 60. Paul was, as I have stated, the Twelfth Apostle, and filled the 
place from which Judas fell by temptation. The preachings of Paul were 
attended by extraordinary results, even in that time, when all the Apostles 
preached with great power and success. His first address was always 
to his countrymen ; then already scattered through every Grecian city of 
Asia Minor and Egypt. He endeavored, -First, to convince them, that 
the Messiah promised to their nation, and so long looked for, had visited 
them, and had been the rejected Jesus Christ. That it was their duty 
to leave the rest of the nation to act for themselves, but for them to 
embrace the cause of truth, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe 
that he was the Messiah, and that his precepts were above the laws and 
traditions they had heretofore been governed by. That the delivery of 
these precepts had been accompanied by many miracles, of which there 
were abundant witnesses, one of wkom he was himself, though only in a 
secondary or after manner. That God must be served, not by pilgrimages 
to Jerusalem, but by submission to His will, which He would manifest to 
them by His Spirit, if they would but turn to Him, and seek His aid, and 
counsel, and direction, within themselves. That he who did this should 
live, and never die. He should never be separated from God, the Father, 
and he should, jointly with Jesus Christ, be heir to immortal life and per- 
fect bliss. But, though this simple preaching was often accompanied by 
outward signs of God's power, he more often foiled, than succeeded, in 
converting the Jews. Then he turned to the Greeks, who were their 
fellow-citizens. Here his arguments were of a different kind ; for he was 
i all men, by addressing himself to the capacity and knowledge 
6 



42 

of the men he had to deal with. He now would endeavor to show the hea 
then idolator, that God was one great overruling Creator. That all other 
objects of worship were powerless and unworthy of regard. That it was 
proper, that every man should render obedience to that powerful Being, 
who had bestowed upon them life, and capacities for enjoyment ; and 
that if they desired to serve God, they should, by addressing their pray- 
ers to Him, seek Him ; and they should, when they sought for it, find 
in their own hearts, an evidence that they were heard ; and, that God 
would so assure them, of His invisible presence and ever watchful care 
and love. This discourse might, or might not, contain an allusion to 
the Life, Death, or Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but he never failed 
to teach, to every believer of the first preliminary discourse, that the 
begiuning of this movement had been, the appearance of a long promised 
Messiah, or Sent of God, at Jerusalem. That he had been rejected by 
his own nation and friends, but that nevertheless he did perform wonders 
and miracles ; and, that he was eminently the Son of God, and that his 
Birth, Life, and Death were a succession of miracles ; all showing, that 
he was indeed what he professed to be, the Son of God. But that he 
had declared, that he would be the Comforter to his followers ; and that 
wherever two or three were gathered together in his name, there he 
would be with them ; and, that the manifestation of his presence would 
often be accompanied by an outward sign. So Paul preached, and on this 
simple platform laid the foundations for the Church of Christ. At Anti- 
och, the capital or head city of a very large territory, where heathen 
worship was supported by the strongest pecuniary motives, and where the 
whole population felt particular pride in the existence of their great tem- 
ple, and believed their city was really favored by the residence of a god 
who had been a man, the converts of Paul first received the distinctive 
name of Christians. Before that, they had had no appellation that classed 
them as a body. They were before merely called Jews, or Gentiles, who 
believed in Jesus the Messiah — who had believed in Paul's preaching, 
or in some other teacher's preaching. But names are nothing, it is the 
sacrifice of man's will that is required of him ; and God requires all men 
to seek him now, as Paul then preached that they should. Paul speaks 
of his having a thorn in the flesh, that continually reminded him of his 
own littleness, and prevented him from appropriating to himself any of the 
glory, honor, or praise, which men delighted to bestow upon him. He 
gave God the glory, as being the director and Guide of all his actions, 
through the Lord Jesus Christ, who acted in Unity with God ; and, in 
accordance with what he had declared to be his intention, when in the 
body. He was the inward revealer of God's Will, and Paul desired to 
be passive in his hands or direction ; because, he believed that all power 
is from the Father, and the Son received his power from God, in common 
with every other manifestation of existence. That even Jesus Christ 
was nothing, except what it had pleased God to have him to be ; and, that 
the converts who received his teachings, and obeyed submissively the 
Voice of God in their hearts, given through the Spirit of Jesus Messiah, 
should be one with Christ, even, as he was One with the Father ; and 
should be so far equal to Christ, as to be joint heir with him. to all the 



43 

gins and blessings which God, in His love and wisdom, had conferred 
upon him, who had been a man without guile, and had gone about doing 
good, and obeying God's command, till at last he suffered the last 
extremity of horrid death upon the cross. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Origin of the Christian Hierarchy. 

§ 61. The last chapter disposed of the manner of Paul's preaching. 
But how and where he preached, I have yet to relate. In all the princi- 
pal cities which he visited, he was admitted to the synagogues as a Jew, 
which he claimed as his right. But, as the doctrines he preached were 
often unaccepted by his hearers, he was sometimes driven forth tumultu- 
ously; sometimes arrested, as a disturber of the public worship sanctioned 
by law and custom ; sometimes allowed to depart peaceably, but for the 
future refused admittance. Then, he felt himself released from further 
appeals to his brethren, as the already favored people of God; a.nd, laying 
aside his character of Jew, he became the Roman citizen. Then he 
preached in the market-places, in the theatres, in the hippodromes, or 
wherever he could find the people collected. But, when any considerable 
number believed, he formed them into an association, and appointed one 
of them deacon or elder, an office that made him the supervisor of their 
outward profession and practice, and the administrator of the revenues of 
the church, or association. But the revenues were trifling, consisting 
merely of the offerings made weekly, as Paul directed in his Epistle to 
the Corinthians. The Church was then established, but where was its 
preacher to be found when Paul left, as he usually very soon did ? Paul, 
too, would select a man for that office ; and him he would call presbyter, 
or deacon of spiritual matters. The same office was called by others 
episcopos, translated bishop. These titles, now so numerously conferred, 
and so eagerly sought, were not then, as now, places of ease. They put 
a man up as a mark for persecution, aud for all the venom of bitterness, 
which enraged men so lavish upon those who are converted from their 
ranks. 

§ 62. The episcopos, or presbyter, was, however, yet to be endowed 
with his ministerial power. That he could only receive 'from God, through 
Christ, his Sent Spirit. This was done, ceremoniously, by the laying on 
hands : that is, the Apostle placed his hands upon the head of him so 
selected, and prayed God, to then give unto the man His Spirit abundantly, 
so that the man and the church should glorify God the Father, and Jesus 
Christ the Son of God; and the Spirit, that guided and inspired the 
man, was believed to be of God, and as God, true and faithful. Faithful 
to what ? Faithful to the wants, and holy desires of the church ; and 
addressing to it words of counsel, advice, and direction. But, then, why 
did Paul further interfere by giving directions, personally or by letter ? 



44 

Because the episcopos was not always faithful to the guidance of the 
Spirit, and there was no way to insure that he would be so ; for, as I have 
before told you, the free-will of man is never restrained, in the body, by 
any other power. Man would then immediately cease to be a free agent, 
and sink into a mere automaton. But yet, this free-will you would have 
us surrender to you, or to God ? Because you surrender it, and also 
retain it. So rich is God, that He accepts man's offering, and leaves it in 
his own possession ; and, what is more, He leaves it as fully the man's as 
ever it was. If the man is a faithful servant, he is continually sacrificing 
to God, the only thing God wants him to offer. God always accepts it 
with pleasure, and the man has it ever to offer. So the sacrifice must be 
continual, and is continual, when it is made as it should be; and thus, the 
incense of good works arises, continually, from a good man to God. But, 
when the sacrifice ceases, the man ceases to serve God. He then serves 
himself. God does not reward him for serving himself, but for serving 
Him. His spirit in the man must either withdraw, or act imperfectly, 
when the perfect sacrifice is not made. Thus it is, that differences and 
dissensions arose in the church. The presbyters, or preachers, or epis- 
coposes, becoming imperfect mediums of the truth, because they imper- 
fectly sacrificed their own wills, differed from each other, as well as from 
the truth. Then councils were held, and the majority assumed to decide, 
for ever, what God's Truth and Will was, and should be. So was butft 
up the Hierarchy. But the Hierarchy is a False Prophet. It is the 
False Prophet referred to by John the Divine. It is that False Prophet 
which must be destroyed, before Jesus Messiah can reign as King of 
Kings, and Lord of Lords. But did I not give another interpretation to it 
m the Second Book? I did. But I also informed you in the First 
Book, that there are in all parts of the Bible passages of double significa- 
tion, the one ou-tward, the other spiritual. Both to be understood by the 
help of the Spirit; and neither to be arrived at with certainty, except 
under its guidance. And did not Adam Clarke, and Thomas Scott, and 
other commentators, seek this guidance ; and, if they sought, why did they 
not find ? They sought, but not with a perfect sacrifice of will. They 
desired to establish their faith, and that of their associates, and they 
obtained their desires. So it will ever be, as I have explained in this 
Book already, that the incomplete sacrifice is accepted, as it is made ; and 
God grants the desires of His servants, or of His would-be servants, even 
when they strive to obtain untruth. Then, how can a man be sure that 
he is receiving the truth, if he is so liable to be deceived by his own imper- 
fections. By the assurance of the Spirit of God, freely given him, and 
without his desire, or asking, declaring to him when the surrender is per- 
fect, and complete ; or, that he requires still more effort, to obtain a full 
sacrifice, even for a time. Thus Paul was obliged to interfere, and some- 
times to depose an episcopos, and establish another. So, too, the second 
one chosen might prove unfaithful ; for the church was made up of illite 
rate and newly received members, whose passions and traditions assailed 
them with frequent success. 

§ 63. How did Paul, though, lead so uncomfortable a life, if he had such 
authority, and could so easily silence error ! The result of a deposition 



45 

was not always to silence the former preacher; often the man's imagina- 
tion, or revengeful feelings, would induce him to continue to disturb and 
distract the church. For its members were not all obedient to their outward 
teachers, any more than spiritual believers in the present day are obedient 
to the Divine influx, or the declaration of mediums of their duties ; and 
so, confusion takes the place of order, and an attempt is made to be 
governed by reason, in the place of God's "Will, or Wisdom. 

§ 64. Let us once more return, to the early formed church. We read 
in Paul's letters, or epistles, how there were various signs in the church. 
That there were some who spoke with tongues, and that Paul was one of 
these. That, some had the gift of being able to interpret the speaker with 
tongues. That some could heal the sick, or lame, outwardly. That oth- 
ers were obliged to be content with the gift of prophesy. That these 
were not found united in one medium ; but that, in general, each one pos- 
sessing any such power, possessed but one kind, or manifestation, of God's 
action. But what were these gifts, so abundant then, so rare now ? The 
gift of tongues was speaking in an unknown, to the medium, language ; 
or, speaking so as to be heard by different hearers, in different words, or 
distinct languages. The first was by far the most common, yet the latter 
was its first great manifestation ; and was the first miracle, or manifesta- 
tion of the Spirit, given by the Apostles after my ascension. This was 
through Peter. The gift of healing was also performed by many beside 
the Apostles, and it was done in the same manner as an episcopos was 
appointed ; that is, by laying on of hands, and prayer to God, to manifest 
His power, and make known His mercy, by healing the disease, or 
restoring sight, or removing lameness. The gift of prophesy was not a 
power to foretell events, but to discern spirits, and to interpret dreams. 
The spirits of the prophets should be manifested by truth, and agreement 
with others, of the same powers. So, if one's interpretation did not 
appear to another consistent, he gave a different one. But the resolution 
of Paul, and the church, was to let the other prophets present declare 
when a prophecy was correctly given. The proof would be the response 
of the spirit, in the internals of the other prophets. But, then, if this 
kind of judging led astray the episcoposes, why were the prophets kept 
in the truth by it ? Because, in the one case, the assembled prophets 
gave their testimony from the intimation of the Spirit, and in the other 
were led by reason, which alone can not guide a man to truth. Nothing 
can guide a man to truth, but God's Love, manifested through his Spirits. 
That causes truth to be declared, and bears testimony to it, in the minds 
of the humblest member of the church, or hearer of the word ; for even 
hearers, who hear the first declaration of a medium, and the first one 
they have heard, can find, within themselves, the truth declared respect- 
ing what they have heard, if they will submit to God with earnest 
desires, not for their own satisfaction, but for the truth and its general 
establishment. 

§ 65. The last matter that I shall notice in this Book, is the fact, that 
Paul had a thorn in the flesh given to him, that he should not forget his 
dependance on God, and glorify himself. This thorn in the flesh, you no 
doubt understand, was some affliction appertaining to the body. It was a 



46 

lameness, caused by rheumatism. At times, very painful, but always 
annoying, except when engaged in God's service. Paul was not then 
always engaged in serving God ! He was not always victorious over his 
own will, but sometimes allowed desires of his own to precede, or obscure 
the gift of the Spirit. But this thorn in the flesh was given to Paul, so 
that when he lost sight of purity, and grieved the Spirit by neglect, the 
Spirit ceased to maintain that equilibrium of vital, invisible, odic force or 
essence, by which every part of the body is kept free from disease ; and 
of which the derangement is so quickly declared by pain. This was the 
thorn in the flesh, so briefly alluded to by Paul, for which he was thank- 
ful, and for which he had reason to thank God. 

§ 66. And now, having led you to see how Paul established churches, 
and how the churches became the generators and supporters of error, let 
us thank God, that He has been pleased to manifest Himself, in this Time 
of the End, with the same great and striking manifestations as He then 
gave ; except, that the world being so much better prepared for them, His 
mediums do not suffer persecution to such violent extremes as then. 
But then, God's Spirit could support them under every trial, and give 
peace to every torture. The entire course of a suffering martyr could 
be one continued triumph over the ordinary laws of matter ; because the 
Spirit of God, within him, would control the sensations of his body*, and 
maintain such an equilibrium of odic force, or fluid, or essence, as 
would obviate all suffering, and prevent the manifestation or existence 
of any pain. 

§ 67. But how did the other Apostles preach? Much as Paul did, 
after he had set them the example. But before that, they confined them- 
selves mostly to the Jewish nation, and endeavored, unavailingly, to induce 
its authorized heads to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. But, after that, 
they dispersed themselves to various countries, some of which received 
the new doctrines with joy and gratitude; while others rejected, and per- 
secuted them. The traditions respecting their deaths, in the records of 
the church, are in general correct. But, the only fact about which you 
are now deeply interested, is how they died. Did they seal their testi- 
mony with their blood ? Did they endure to the bitter end the pangs of 
death ? Or, did they, when they reached the Dark Valley, hesitate to 
encounter its shades, and try, by recantation, to prolong a life, which they 
had been using to promulgate what the vast majority of mankind pro- 
nounced delusion, and a wicked and blasphemous attempt to betray Jews 
into the power of demons, and lead the learned polytheist to damnable 
Deism? They died as they had lived, declaring that, of a truth, they 
had seen the miracles they had stated they had ; that they had experi- 
enced the Divine Spirit operating in various ways upon them, precisely 
as they had declared in their most secure moments. They sealed their 
testimony by the sacrifice of the body ; but they were only able to do 
this by the power and assistance of God, given them because they had 
sacrificed their will to His, in at least a high degree, and because, having 
delighted to serve God, he made even the torture a pleasure, and the 
cross a victory over pain. May you, oh, reader! be qualified for the 
same happiness, and inherit the same recompense. 



INDEX, 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 

Page 

Title Page, 1 

Introduction, 3 

Preface, 4 

Chapter I., Part I. : The Future Progress of Man in the Body, 5 

Part II. . The Future Progress of Man in the Spirit, 10 
Chapter II., Part I. : The Life to be led by Mediums, . . 18 
Part II. : Explanations of Hidden Prophetical Events, 22 
Chapter III. : The Trials and Tests of Mediums, 
Chapter IV. : The Holy Communion, 
Chapter V. : What is required of Man, 
Chapter VI. : The Life of Paul, .... 

Chapter VII. : History of the First Christian Churches, 

IndEx, 

Outside of Cover. 



TABLE OF SUBJECTS. 



Chap. I., Part I. The present Spiritual Manifestations, page 5. Those 
which will follow, 6. The Spirit from Saturn, 6. Subject of this 
Book, 6. Prayer for the Reader to make, 6. Appeal to the Reader, 
7. Appeal to thef Covetous, 8. The Length of Eternity, 9. My 
Prayer for the Reader who does not believe, 9. The Arguments of 
Unbelievers considered, 10. Reconciliation difficult in the World to 
come, 10. 

Chap. I., Part- II. Explanations of Apparitions, 10. First five Cir- 
cles of the Second Sphere, 11. The objections of Unbelievers 
answered, 12. The call to believe this Medium, 12. His Future and 
my Foreknowledge, 14. Love of Good Works in the Second Sphere, 
14. The Seventh Circle of the Second Sphere, 14. The First Circle 
of the Third Sphere, 15. Memory of Good Intentions in the Third 
Sphere, 15. Memory of Good Desires, 16. Atonement and Repent- 
ance considered, 16. Glory of the Seventh Circle of the Third 
Sphere, 17. 



48 

Chap. II., Part I. Man by Reason can not find out God, 18. The King 
of the Fifth Kingdom, 18. General Exposition of His Appearance, 19. 
His Spiritual Presence, 19. The duration of the Kingdom, 19. Hypo- 
thetical Decline of the United States, 19. How the Nation can be 
saved from that Fate, 20. What each Man must do to produce Peace, 
and Joy, and the Fifth Kingdom, 20. Mediums will desire Men to fol- 
low their Direction, 21. Signs of the Truth of this Medium's Revela- 
tions, 21. 

Chap. II., Part II. Prophecies, 22, How all Men should be Me- 
diums, 22. The Reader invited to the New Jerusalem, 23. Hypo- 
thetical Future Events, 24. The Truth of the First Book, and an Excuse 
for disbelieving this, 25. 

Chap. III. Responsibility of Readers, 26. How sincere Inquirers may 
be convinced, 26. Last Phase of the Fourth Kingdom, 27, Willing- 
ness of this Medium to be excused, 27. 

Chap. IV. Where is Heaven ? 28. The Holy Communion, 29. 

Chap. V. The Origin of Evil, 30. The Precepts of Jesus, 31. Oaths 
lawful, 31. Evils of War, 32. War by God's Command, 33. Lawful- 
ness of bearing Arms, 34. When Christians should not, 34. How to 
decide every case, 35. The True Guide, 36. The Lord's Prayer, 36. 
Nature of Prayer, 36. Preaching for Pay, 37. 

Chap. VI. Reasons for believing former and present Revelation, 38. 
Confidence Men should have in God's Care, 39. Inspiration of the 
Apostles, 40. Character of Paul's Preaching, 41. 

Chap. VII. Churches established by him, 43. How the True became 
the False Prophet, 43. Conflict of Man's Reason and God's Will or 
Wisdom, 44. Signs, or outward Manifestations in the early Churches, 45 
Paul's Thorn in the Flesh, 45. How the former Mediums suffered, 46, 
Constancy of the Martyrs of God's Church, 47. 



THE 



HISTORY 



ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, 



OF NAZARETH, FORMERLY 1 



Inti nf #nu; njttd in tyumt tn 



d)ut tntt jj (inn. 



WRITTEN DOWN BY THE MEDIUM, A SON OF MAN, EARTHY, AND UNREGENERATE, 



L. M. ARNOLD, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 

if 

TO WHOM IT WAS DELIVERED IN THE WORDS USED ) ARRANGED, AND 

AMENDED IN PUNCTUATION, BY THE INTELLECT OF THE MAN, AND 

THE OCCASIONAL ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT ABOVE NAMED. 



IN THE YEAR OF GOd's GRACE; 

1852. 



FIRST PRINTED IN 

1853. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by 

L. M. ARNOLD, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York. 



N. Y. STEREOTYPE ASSOCIATION, 

201 William Street. 



INTRODUCTION 

TO THE SECOND SERIES OF 

THE HISTOEY OF THE OEIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



In the beginning of this Series, I have shown the end and aim of Spirit 
Life. In the other parts. I shall show the ohject of the physical relations 
of bodies to spirits and to souls. In the last Book of the Series, I shall 
declare the Future course of Spiritual Life more fully than I ventured to 
before. 

The First Series was three Books, published at different times, and sep- 
arately delivered, and directed to the World. This Series I write and 
prepare for the press myself, with more particularity, and more evidence 
of orderly arrangement, because I am going to give outward proof to read- 
ers, though not to my medium, that I am the author. But the First Series 
is equally mine, all but the punctuation. This Series is more fully mine, 
because the medium has been more attentive, and more careful, and more 
faithful, and more desirous to be led and guided by me, in all parts, and 
at all times, than he was previously. But yet he will improve. Still, 
as I have before declared, the errors in the First Series are trifling, and 
verbal merely, and will neither harm you to believe, or act upon. I have 
left some few, perhaps, in this, but they are still more slight, and unwor- 
thy of thought, or apprehension. Let us all try to find good in every thing, 
instead of looking for weaknesses, or evils. For it ever remains true, He 
that seeks, shall find, and when he finds, he finds generally what he seeks 
for. If truth be the object, look for that, and not for error. All that will 
come, may come, and partake of the waters of life freely, without money, 
and without price. The necessitous shall, on application to my medium, 
or to any other servant of my will, receive the loan of a copy of this, or 
any former publication. Those who have superfluities, shall pay only the 
cost of printing and circulating the books. My medium is prevented by 
my control, from realizing any thing from the sale of these books, that is not 
diverted from himself, and his temporal affairs, to replacing the cost and 
expenses incurred for printing and advertising the works given through 
him. He has no return as yet for his outlay, and will not be permitted to 



retain it when he has, except for the purposes named ; and for his time, 
or personal service, he shall receive no outward compensation whatever. 
I shall take care that he obeys ; if not willingly, he knows and believes I 
can, by circumstances, take from him sufficient to make my declarations 
true. Let no one, then, accuse him of a desire to profit by his mission in 
any outward way or manner. For to me he gives the glory, honor, and 
praise of all that he has, and looks to God or me, as one, for all that he 
desires or hopes to obtain. 

Let each reader, then, who is brought to know the truth of these Books, 
try by all his means, and influence of means, to induce the circulation and 
perusal by others, as well as his own mind, of them ; so that all mankind 
may be benefited by his exertions, and by the spread of Truth, and Love 
of God manifested in Love of Men. 



PREFACE 

TO THE SECOND SERIES. 



The Second Series is now completed. I have finished my work through 
this Medium, in this way, for this year ; a year of importance in the his- 
tory of the world of Earth, because it has witnessed the production, by 
reception and publication, of THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL 
THINGS. My servant, Emanuel Swedenborg, looked forward to this time, 
and announced this very year, as the period of the production of a revela- 
tion which should establish the NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH on its 
proper foundation. Other foundation can no man lay than is laid, and 
this is a foundation on the ROCK of which I spoke, on a memorable occa- 
sion, when Peter, a Rock himself, confessed, or acknowledged, or declared, 
in answer to my call upon him, that I was then known to him to be THE 
CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. Flesh and blood did 
not reveal this to Peter. It was INTERNAL REVELATION which 
declared it to him ; and on this Rock of Internal Revelation, will I al- 
ways lay the foundation of MY Church. So it was ; so it is ; so it will 
be. AMEN„ 

August, 1852. 



THE 



HISTOEY OF THE 



ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



CONTINUED FROM 



THE FIRST SERIES, 
ALREADY PUBLISHED IN THREE BOOKS. 



BEING PABTICCXABLY 



51 3Mstarg nf spirit-lift, iraa of |krank. 



IN SEVEN CEAPTEES. 



ALSO, 



A BOOK OF HYMNS, 

OR FORMS OF VOCAL PRAISE TO GOD 



DELIVERED BY 



THE LORD JESUS CHKIST, 



L. M. ARNOLD (OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.), MEDIUM. 

IN THE YEAR OF GOD'S GRACE; 
1852. 



FIRST PRINTED IN 

1853. 



INTRODUCTION 

TO THE FIRST BOOK OF THE SECOND SERIES OF 

THE HISTOEY OF THE OKIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 

Be not afraid to read. Error hurts no man who is on a sure foundation. 
But if a man's belief is on a sandy foundation, it can not withstand a dis- 
cussion, which will cause storms of wind, and rivers of words. Let every 
man search for Truth, and, in doing so, fear not to descend for it into deeps 
below the surface, or reach to airy heights of Heaven-born aspirations. 
Truth must and will prevail, if free discussion takes place. The Creator 
of All Things has 

" In binding Nature fast in fate, 
Left free the human will." 

If man, too, leaves his fellow man free to choose good or evil, he leaves 
him to work out his own soul's salvation; and God has before declared, 
No one can give to God a ransom for his brother's soul. Let freedom, then, 
prevail, not only in blessed America, but benighted Europe, and dismally 
dark Asia, and Egyptianally dark Africa. Let each and all endeavor to 
profit by the light that now shines into the darkness, and thus far is not 
comprehended by it. But the dawn is near. The morning of the Great 
Day of the Lord will soon be unmistakably evidenced, and as the light- 
ning shineth from the East even unto the West, so shall be my coming 
into the hearts of men. Be ye then ready to welcome the Son of God, 
whom you have often rejected, and place yourselves under the glorious 
government of the King of Kings, whose kingdom and dominion is an ever- 
lasting one, and shall endure when time shall be no more, and when the 
past, and the present, and the future shall be blended in one great, eter- 
nal, Infinite Now. 

Reader, dare you pray that this great and glorious Day shall dawn ? 
Do you want to see it, or do you prefer the flesh-pots of Egypt, the cere- 
monies of the Law,, the dogmas of the Church, to the glorious Liberty of 
Christ, and his Saints, reigning on Earth as they reign in heaven ; which 
is with all power, and yet in subjection to God j who then makes all of 
one mind to give to Him glory, honor, thanksgiving, praise, and high re- 
nown, both now and always, for ever and for evermore. Amen. 

Reader, if you dare to pray for this time, so long gloriously expected, so 
long pretendedly prayed and hoped for, accompany me in the following 
prayer. If not, prayer will be useless, and this book only make your sins 
more scarlet, and your desires more unchristian. If you can not make this 
prayer, do not waste your time reading this book, but proceed to your mer- 
chandise, to your cattle, and to whatever you have wedded. 

Almighty God, who dost from thy throne behold all the desires of all 
men, look down with favor upon my desire to know the truth of the things 
declared in this Book, professing to come secondarily from thee, primarily 



8 

from thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with Thee, be ascribed all 
Honor, Praise, Glory, and Thanksgiving, both here and hereafter, both 
now and forever, in this world, and the world which is to come to All 
Men. Amen. 



PREFACE 

TO THE FIRST BOOK OF THE SECOND SERIES OF 

THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



Let all that is within me praise the Lord, 
For He is God, and His Mercy endureth forever; 
Tea, let all the earth praise God, and give Him glory, 
For His great deliverances, and glorious Revelations. 

Lest any should mistake the object of this publication, I will state, that 
all that the medium knew of this Book, before I commenced it, was, that 
it should be a Book of Hymns, and be commenced on the 27th of June, 
1852. His surprise to find it prose was great, and his surprise to find that 
the Hymns were one only to each Chapter, was still greater. But he 
continued passive and believing, and his faith has been strengthened by 
what to some would have been a retarding circumstance, and a confusing 
influence. 

But to those who are passive, all is well. To those who are patient, 
all will be manifest, and to those who are submissive to God, wall be the 
reward of promotion to more arduous tasks, or, as it is symbolized, by having 
more talents, or cities to control. Seek then first, the kingdom of God, 
and all else shall be added. Seek first to be reconciled to God, and you 
shall find His kingdom j seek reconciliation by offering the one only accept- 
able sacrifice, that of your Heart, properly called your Free- Will. When 
you do that, you begin to serve God ; till you do it, you serve yourself, 
that is, your own will. When you do that, you seek God's direction j and 
when you seek that, you find it ; and when you find it, you find the pearl 
of great price : and you, like any other finding that pearl, will sell all that 
you have to buy it. You will sell your houses and lands, your wife and 
children, your present comfort, and even your present life, for that joy, 
which the devoted to God, the desirous to serve Him, can only enjoy. The 
peace of God which passes all understanding is, in fact, a part of Heaven ; 
and the establishment of it in the Heart, or Self- Will of man, gives a home 
to God, and to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Comforter, the 
Spirit of God, which is ever at His right hand, and seeking to enter every 
heart that opens a door for its entrance. The blessed Trinity is then with 
him, and he enjoys the Holy Communion : he becomes baptized with the 
fire of God's Love, and lays down in the Promised Land of Contentment 
and Peace, where there is no more sorrow, and the weary are at rest, 
Ajnen. 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE DESCRIPTION OF PARADISE. 



PART FIRST. 

The Time of the Establishment of Paradise. 

§ 1. When all creation was accomplished by the production of the body 
of man upon the Earth, I was in Paradise ; so were you. But the situa- 
tion of Paradise, and the nature and extent of it, have never been reveal- 
ed. That subject I leave for another book. This Book I write now, be- 
cause the medium has time, and the World has need. But yet it will be, 
to many, a pearl unappreciated. There are, however, spirits who need 
the book, as well as men in the body. There are men who will appreci- 
ate the Book, and Spirits shall declare its truth. But, is this book, then, 
to be the first declaration of some things, or of some part, at least, of its 
contents, to spirits ? Do they derive their first knowledge through books 
addressed, in outward form, to mankind ? They do, or, at least, some of 
them do. I stated in my Third Book on The Origin of All Things, that 
the knowledge possessed by spirits of the Fourth Sphere was to be reveal- 
ed to man. It is evident, that if the knowledge is that which properly be- 
longed to the Fourth Sphere, it could not be possessed by Spirits in a lower 
circle or Sphere. But, if it is to be revealed to Spirits, is there not a sim- 
pler way, than to reveal it through this outward, or material, medium ? 
There is ; but if I choose to give it this way, shall you say that it is not 
the wisest way? Shall you say the simplest way is always the best, 
to produce the greatest result ? The wisdom of man does not so act. 
Neither does the Wisdom of God, which is far simpler in its manifestations 
than man's wisdom ; but which is so far above man's, as to be incompre- 
hensible in its simplicity, and is made complex, or manifested in a round- 
about manner, to induce and secure its reception by some. It is also evi- 
dent, that if spirits in the lower circles of the Second Sphere are so gross, 
or sensual, as I have described them, so ignorant of their situation and 
duties, and yet possessing power, as has been described by others, to make 
themselves acquainted with the thoughts, and knowledge, and desires, and 
hopes of men in the body, that such spirits may more easily be reached by 
knowledge proceeding from below, upward, instead of from the higher 
Spirits to them only. I say only ; but not because the effort has been 
made already to thus instruct them; but because we shall cause the pro- 
cedure of this revelation to be presented to them from above, and from 
below. 



10 



§ 2. Having thus explained briefly the reasons for this revelation, and 
having shadowed forth what it will be, I will proceed at once to relate 
The History of Paradise. 



PART SECOND OF CHAPTER I. 

The Course of the Inhabitants of Paradise. 

% 3. Let all the people praise the Lord, 
Tea, let all the people praise Him 
For He is great, above all the Heavens ; 
And glorious, beyond all the Creation of his hands. 

Let all the people praise the Lord, 

For He is great, yea, praise him for all his works ; 

Tea, let all the people praise the Lord, 

Who made all, and sustains all that is made. 

Let all the people praise their God, 

The High and Mighty, Ruler of All; 

His Creation is illimitable, and his Power Infinite ; 

Tea, let all the people praise the Most High God. 

Let every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, 
Let every man who lives below, or spirit high in Heaven, 
Let every tongue, let every heart, let every soul, 
Praise the Lord, the Most High, Eternal God. 

Praise Him for His mighty works, and loving deeds ; 
Praise Him for all His glorious Creation ; 
Praise Him for all His excellent Revelation ; 
Praise Him ; for all we have proceeded from Him. 

Let all who dwell in Earth below, and every creature, 
Let all who dwell in Spirit- World, and every procedure, 
Let all that Is, and Was, and Will Be, praise Him, 
Because he is Good, and his Mercy endureth forever. 

Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and all that is within me, praise him ; 
Bless the Lord, all ye servants of His, who do his will ; 
Bless the Lord, all ye spirits who dwell above the Earthy 
Tea, bless the Most High God, fur his Holy Love. 

§ 4. Let us proceed to relate how the Paradise, or First state of Exist- 
ence of the soul of Man, exists ; and where it is. 

Let us call to mind the revelations made by me, in my History of the 
Origin of all Things. By that, you were informed that it was one of quiet 
happiness. That it was in such place as pleased God to have it ; that the 
spirits, or souls, dwelt in it in pairs ; without government, other than im- 
mediate dependence upon God, as required by their relation to him, a? 
being a part of Him. That spirits leave Paradise when it is no longer 
their choice to remain ; and that they have faint ideas of the other six 
circles of the Sphere of Experience which they are to pass through, or, at 
least, may be required to pass through, on Earth. For all do not pass 



11 

through the remaining six circles. Some die, too, young; some never at- 
tain to the higher ones. 

$ 5. Where is Paradise ? 

It is a state or condition of ethereal matter invisible to men, or to spirits, 
who have not reached the Fourth Sphere. It pervades Creation, but not 
every part of it. It exists in space, but is not, like space, unlimited. It 
has various worlds, or divisions, but yet it is one in its nature and essence, 
and conjoined by the thoughts, or desires, of its inhabitants. The more it is 
emptied of its inhabitants, the more it is withdrawn from the Spheres of the 
Future Life, or Spirit- Worlds. For these, too, have place and existence ap- 
pertaining to them, though the nature of their form and material can not 
be comprehended by men in the body. The nature of Paradise is, how- 
ever, still more refined, more ethereal, than the Heavens, or Spirit- Worlds, 
because, in Paradise reside the pure emanations from God. The place is 
where the Sun leaves its boundary of atmosphere, or attracted or attractable 
particles of matter. But, you supposed the Sun's attraction extended to the 
most remote portion of Creation by the law of gravitation, and that at any 
conceivable, if not at an inconceivable, distance, an attractive force was 
manifested, though it must, of course, be almost infinitely small, at an al- 
most infinitely great distance ! This, however, though a proper deduction 
from Newton's theory of gravitation, is not the case. For each system at- 
tracts its own matter ; and its boundaries are those which God, by the Word 
secondarily, and by His Law primarily, established. These boundaries do 
not far exceed the outermost planet of any system. How, then, does the 
Spirit- World encroach upon this state, or field, or world of Paradise ? Its 
location is outside of it. Then the spirits of the more advanced circles 
pass through Paradise to reach the Earth, or any similar globe of matter ? 
They do : but they are not visible to the spirits in Paradise, neither are 
the spirits in Paradise, or the Paradise itself, visible to them, till they 
have been advanced to the Fourth Sphere. How this is practicable, can 
scarcely be explained to men, were they willing and desirous to receive 
the revelation : but, when they are carping, and desirous not to believe, 
but to find objections, or what they call oppositions to reason, it is im- 
possible. So I shall not attempt it now, but may hereafter fully ex- 
plain, for the benefit, or gratification, and instruction of those who are 
true and earnest seekers after pure Truth. Those who seek from vile 
motives, like curiosity, or from profane motives, like a desire to find here- 
in somewhat opposed to itself, or what they call reason, which is only 
their before- established opinion, will be gratified also ; but it will be with 
having their carnal and unworthy desires gratified to their own injury. 
Am I, then, not responsible for their being injured ? Yes, if God be re- 
sponsible for the evil that men in the body commit ; He gave them pow- 
ers to use, and materials to use them upon j they abuse the powers, and 
neglect the materials, or use them in a perverted manner, which is abuse 
of them. So it is with the Revelations I make. Men condemn, or injure 
themselves, by reading and rejecting them ; because they do not properly 
use the powers God has given them ; and because they pervert the mate- 
rials, or subjects, or revelations I furnish. Who, then, is responsible? 
They, or I ? V 



12 

PART THIRD OF CHAPTER I. 

The Circumstances of Existence in Paradise. 

$ 6. The last part of this chapter I shall devote to the consideration of 
the Light of Paradise. 

It is, as I have said, on the border, or boundary, of the solar system. 
Not this system only, but all other solar systems. Their light can not 
proceed from the Sun, because they are beyond the boundary of its influ- 
ence. How, then, does the light from suns reach the Earth ? it is evident 
it can only do so by passing beyond, or through, the Paradise surround. 
big, not only, the sun from which it proceeds, but also that surrounding 
the system in which the observer is stationed. This objection is a proper 
one, and a reasonable one, and as such, deserves a reasonable and proper 
answer. I design to answer every reasonable objection that can be made 
reasonably : but were I to answer others, I should find no stopping place. 
§ 7. The light of the Sun proceeds not merely as a ray falling upon, 
or impinged against an object, but it is an emanation of action, a wave 
or vibration, of the matter upon which it acts. This matter is caloric, as 
I explained in the Second Book of the History of the Origin of all Things, 
now, at this writing, in the hands of the stereotypist. Caloric is a sub- 
stance, as much as air or water : and is, like them, a compound. It con- 
tains the two principles, or elements, of Light and Heat ; and has besides, 
such combinations with other substances, or elements, as can not be ex- 
plained now. They are, however, on the eve of discovery by men, and, 
in part, already ascertained to exist, by the researches of Reichenbach, and 
others who preceded him, as well as of some others whose results, or the- 
ories and experiments, are not yet made public. But why do I not rob 
them of their reward, by announcing, through this medium, the whole 
mystery, or history, of the formation of caloric ? Because I am not a man 
in the body ; but a Spirit of the Seventh Circle of the Seventh Sphere. 

§ 8. Caloric, then, is a compound of Light, Heat, Od, Magnetism, Elec- 
tricity, and other unnamed (with men in the body) substances, or ele- 
ments. The action of the rays of caloric proceeding from the central 
body, or Sun, where it exists, surrounding its atmosphere, as described in 
a former work, causes such vibration in the surrounding aura, as to pro- 
duce corresponding action in the caloric surrounding the planet belonging 
to it, or the still more distant sun. This aura pervades Paradise, as well 
as all the Spirit- Worlds, and all illimitable space, all the Infinite whole. 
Aura, then, is Infinite ? As far as Creation is Infinite, so far is Aura ; for 
it has no other limit than Creation. It, like every thing else, God ex- 
cepted, was created : but like every thing else, God excepted, it is, in re- 
ality, circumscribed in extent. To men. it is the same as Infinite. To 
God, it is different. What, then, exists beyond Aura, and beyond all Cre- 
ation ; beyond the Great Universal Whole ? GOD. He is everywhere : 
He is Infinite. No other being or substance, has, or can possess, this 
quality. But man can not conceive the Infinite. Nothing finite can. 
The angels of the highest circle of the highest sphere approach nearer its 
comprehension than any others, because they are more like God. being 



I 13 

one with him in Power. Will, Glory, Action, Intention, and Motive. But, 
as I declared in the First Book, already published, but not yet understood 
by any reader, not even by my medium, these spirits continue to progress 
to all Eternity, and become nearer and nearer, more and more like God, 
without ever reaching Perfection, without ever being God. So they will, 
to all Eternity, approach nearer and nearer to a conception and knowl- 
edge of Infinity, without ever attaining them. 

$ 9. My medium has, again and again, since I wrote the Third Book of 
The History of the Origin of All Things, examined himself, and tried the 
Spirit, by which he receives these revelations. Moved by the judgments 
and denunciations of fallible men, and knowing his own fallibility and 
weakness, his entire want of power in God's hands, or against his Will, 
he has apprehended that all this proceeding might, after all, be the work 
of spirits acting in God's will to purify him, and lead, perhaps, others 
into purification, by misdirection; or, as it were, leading them first away 
from the truth, in order hereafter to have them advance in the true path. 
Even as a traveler, desirous to reach the end of his journey as quickly 
as possible, but who has gone astray, is sometimes compelled either to 
tread back the path he has wandered into or take another road, also lead- 
ing him in the first instance to a greater distance from the object he de- 
sires to reach, but still conducting him to the great highway, from which 
he can not again wander without willfulness, and which will conduct 
him, by a direct course, to the end of his journey. But he has wisely 
concluded that his only course is to follow his guide, to be passive to my 
influence, to disregard man's opinion, sectarian or interested opposition, 
ignorant denunciation, or even well-meaning criticism. He does what the 
reader should do. But, the reader says, I have not the internal evidence 
he may have that the communication is spiritual ; I know not, as he may 
know, what prayers he has made ; what reliance on God he makes ! No : 
but you may have the same internal evidence, the same outward evi- 
dence, the same prayers may be made, the same reliance on God may 
exist in you as in him. I have told you, in former books, how you may 
have an outward evidence I do not furnish him with. But you must re- 
member the condition : that you must ask with a sincere desire to receive 
an answer in Truth^ and in God's will ; not from vain curiosity, or desire 
to establish a disagreement in the spiritual manifestations. These you 
ought to desire to reconcile, for what greater blessing can you expect, than 
to have revelation from God, or from superior beings ? This ought to be 
sufficient to induce you to be willing to discard pride of opinion, prejudice 
of education, motives of pecuniary interest, or loss of popularity. This 
will, then, produce you a truthful answer, from even an imperfect, or low 
medium. This will give you a proof my medium has not had, and will 
not have by inquiry. I require of him more than I do of you, because he 
knows he has a direction from a foreign intelligence, and he knows that 
reason and revelation assure him that God rules all, sees all, knows all, 
and will have all men come to Him through me, or through Christ, which 
is any Spirit of God sent to men. He is aware, by experience, that I teach 
only good actions, and that I urge upon-him good motives, and that I lead 
him to form good intentions. How, then, should he believe the influence 



• 

to be evil ? A tree is known by its fruits. But you say, the fruit of this 
revelation is discord ? So it was when I was in the body j for I then de- 
clared, that what I preached, or my coming, was not to bring peace, but a 
sword ; that I came to declare what would break up families, and divide 
the nearest relatives. But was that because men received my teachings 
then, or is this because men receive my revelations now, or is it because 
they reject them, and war upon those who receive, or received them? 
Answer from your own reason, Reader ! 

§ 10. But to return from this long digression: the aura then receives 
the action of the caloric of the central, or other globes of matter, that may 
possess caloric, and transmits it by waves to every part of its own extent. 
"Wherever these waves reach bodies capable of receiving their action, a 
manifestation of it takes place. If the body, or substance, is the caloric 
of a globe, it receives the impulse, so as to form again a ray similar to 
the one which produced the wave ; and that ray proceeds on its course 
to the Earth, or other globe, as if it had proceeded, and continued in con- 
tinuity, from the Sun, or other parent of it. But, when passing through 
the Paradisical substance, it exerts no influence upon it, and does not 
make itself, in any way, manifest to the senses of the beings there exist- 
ing. So, I have shown you how it is that spirits in Paradise, and in the 
Spirit- World, do not, or may not, perceive the light of the Sun, or of other 
such bodies. But there is a light from God that pervades the aura, that 
pervades Paradise, and every other part of creation, which is manifest to 
spirits before and after their connection with the body. But the light 
thus pervading the aura manifests itself differently to different beings, 
and sustains to them such relations as carry out the purposes of God. It 
is not so visible to low spirits as to high ones. It is not visible to spirits 
in Paradise, as it is to those in the Spirit- World ; But the Spirits in Para- 
dise have light from it, and are visible by its light to the angels of the 
Fourth and higher Spheres. Yet, they can not see by its light either the 
grosser or the finer particles or substances. They can not see God, nor 
can they see men, nor can they see the Spirit-World. The adams of 
Paradise are, as I have said, souls of men ; and the souls of men are em- 
anations from God of a part of himself. What is the nature of these 
adams, of these parts of God, I shall show in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LOCATION OF PARADISE. 



PART FIRST. 

The Plan and Time of Establishing Paradise. 

$13- God established Paradise after he had formed matter. When 
matter had progressed to have form, which it did under the supervision, or 
government, of the Word, Paradise was spoken into existence. God said, 
Let us make Man in our own image. Why use the plural? Because 
God is One, but All. Because He spoke to the Word, which is also the im- 



15 

age of God. So, man was made "by a separation from the Infinite, of a 
portion of Its substance, or essence, which had a form, and was endowed 
with qualities and attributes like unto God, but finite. God and Man can, 
therefore, be One. A glorious Trinity can, and does exist, between God 
and the Word, and Man. But yet, though they are one in their ultimate, 
or essence, they are various in their manifestation, or procedures, or du- 
ties, or attributes. This oneness can not exist with man, in the body, 
except through Christ; the Sent Spirit of a deceased man, or a spirit 
which has passed through the First and Second Spheres. Then, there 
must have been a time when no Trinity existed ! There was a time when 
God was All, in All. When God was one being, unseparated into the 
Word and Spirits, or Angels. But, when that time was, is too far distant 
for even angels to comprehend. Suffice it, then, for man to know, God 
alone is eternal and from eternity ; and that, inasmuch as he is the Fa- 
ther of all, it is impossible that any thing else should have been Eternal, or 
co-equal, with him. Let us, then, see how man was formed. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE II. 
The End for which Paradise was Established. 

SECTION FIRST OF PART SECOND OF CHAPTER II. 

The Souls of Men Entered Paradise at their Creation. 

§ 12. When man had been decreed to exist, the Word undertook to act in 
God's Will upon Spirits, or, more properly, upon God's Substance, which is as 
much above what we have before called Spirit, as Spirit is above matter. 
The innumerable creatures of God which have existed as men, either on this 
globe, or in this System, or Universe, or association of Universes, I have call- 
ed a Coelum ; in this Association of Coelums, I will call a Super-CoBium ; in 
this Association of Super- Coelums, I will call a Whole of Coelums, or Uni- 
verse-Coelums ; in this association of Universe- Coelums, I will call a Super- 
Universe- Caelum ; or, in this Universal Whole, as I will call the combination 
of all the Super-Universe- Coelums which combine to form it ; in all these, 
men have existed, and do exist. For all these, then, who have, who do, 
or who will exist, or be in bodily form, Spirits, or Adams, or Souls, were 
formed at one and the same time, by the Word, from God's substance, or 
essence, which was before, and continued to be afterward, Infinite in ex- 
tent and quantity, as well as in every attribute. All these spirits, to men 
an infinite number, because to men all inconceivable quantities are, in 
effect, infinite ; to all these spirits were given places of residence, as I 
have already described. These places were Paradise. When they would, 
they were united : when they would, they were separated. Male and 
Female in their existence and relationship, each pair was a community, 
a family, a one. Each pair was what it pleased to be, for they were 
possessed of God's attributes in a finite degree. But those finite powers, 
though very strictly confined by laws, were very extensive, in reality. 



16 

Quiet, though, was the great characteristic which distinguishes them from 
spirits who have made progress. Action, or Will to Act, was the one thing 
forbidden to them, as inhabitants of this blissful Paradise. Action, with- 
out which men die, and in which angels have all their enjoyments, was de- 
nied to the Adams, except at the penalty of a change of existence and po- 
sition. A change and fate they looked upon as a degradation. It was, 
in one sense, a degradation : it was a fall from that peace which God had 
bestowed; from that happy pairital existence, which they possessed, to a 
state in which they must toil for the support of an earthly covering, 
which was also a prison-house to them, shutting them out from that light 
which they had befcre dwelt in, and that knowledge of God which they 
had before possessed and enjoyed. They knew, for we may speak in the 
past or present tense indifferently, they knew that they must encounter 
trouble, trial, difficulty, probation. But they knew also, that beyond the 
sphere of Experience, was that of Reconciliation ; and beyond that of Re- 
conciliation, Memory ; and beyond thai of Memory, Knowledge ; and that, 
when they should have arrived at that Fourth Sphere, they would again 
be as happy as before, and that God designed them for Eternal Happiness. 
They knew not the length of time, or the degree of suffering, which might 
be their lot, or that of their fellows. They knew not, that the knowledge 
of Good and Evil, or the passing through the other six circles of the Sphere 
of Experience, would be attended with pain and suffering. They knew 
not the nature of pain and suffering, because they had not experienced it. 
But they did know, that Paradise was to be theirs till they desired to 
leave it, and that every enjoyment that they could conceive of was, and 
should be theirs, so long as they chose to remain. But of the tree of 
Knowledge of Good and Evil, of that they could not taste, without dying 
to God's immediate presence to their senses. How, then, did they conduct 
themselves, and how did they resolve to act, shall be the subject of 

SECTION SECOND, PART SECOND OF CHAPTER II. 

The Condition of the Souls of Men in Paradise. 

§ 13. They were in Paradise in pairs. There were to a pair two eman- 
ations, or Adams, or, as called in Genesis, Adam and Eve. Eve being a 
separation from Adam, after Adam had been separated from God. The 
two beings thus formed from one, which one was formed from God, and in 
his image as to attributes, but not as to form, were united by affinities 
which caused them to depend upon and rely on each other for society and 
for happiness, and for completion of any desire. They were inseparable, 
without a loss of happiness ; not an absolute pain, but a deprivation of 
that peace, which in general possessed the being of each part. The part 
separate, felt its want of a part of itself; the other, feeling the same want, 
they were not separate any longer. Still, in the long period of time which 
elapsed after their creation, or production from God, they began to form 
desires for experiencing that forbidden fruit, of Good and Evil. Long ar- 
guments would be held with the temptation ; the one, would call up every 
beauty and variety Paradise could afford ; the other, would desire still for 
more. All in Paradise was known; but there was something yet to know. 



17 

True, it was understood that it could only be purchased by separation 
from the intimate half, or pairital part, and by unknown experience of 
evil, and by being deprived of God's presence to their consciousness. It 
may be well supposed, that the Serpent, as it is called in Genesis, the 
reasoning faculty, as it might be called, or Free-Will, as it should be cal)- 
ed, it may well be supposed, that this part of themselves would long an 
earnestly pursue the subject, and view from every possible point of view, 
the bearing, and probable result, and possible experience, the adam must 
encounter, in thus expelling itself from so blissful a condition forever. 
For the knowledge, that once leaving the state, it returned no more, was 
fully impressed upon it. 

§ 14. At last, a time arrives when one, at least, of the pairital parts 
resolves to dare the encounter of the ills it knew not of, to escape from 
what has become the monotony of bliss, the ennui of pleasure. God is 
ready to hear its appeal, or to call for its reason if in shamefacedness it 
makes no appeal. The change is evident to God, for his knowledge is In- 
finite. Then the call is heard, Adam, where art thou ? and the adam 
answers, Here am I, Lord, desirous of Knowledge of Good and Evil, 
desirous to proceed from Paradise, because I would rather encounter what 
I have no knowledge of, than remain longer where I know all. This is 
the general reason. There are exceptions, it is true. I have told you of 
one, who desired to leave because, being so happy, he felt it due to God 
to make some return, to be of some service, to persuade some other spirits 
to be as grateful to God for all his blessings, as he himself was. Having 
in vain tried to incite the adams of Paradise to feel as he did, he next de- 
sired to follow those who had left Paradise, and try to persuade them to 
feel that gratitude which the goodness of God, and all his benefits confer- 
red on the just and on the unjust, ought to inspire into every soul. This 
desire God granted also, and coming with such motives, he was what he 
was, a being so far in advance of other men, as to suffer an ignominious 
death with prayer to God to forgive his enemies ; and though left almost 
alone in his dying moments, as far as human sympathy was concerned, he 
despaired not of God's Power and Love. He ceased not to believe that he 
should be permitted to help men to be grateful, that he should, in the 
Spirit- World, go on with that work so sacrificingly begun in the body, or 
rather in Paradise, and that had, as yet, produced so little fruit. God 
blessed and aided him. God raised and elevated him. God has prosper- 
ed his work since he has been in the Spirit-World, and God now sends 
him to reveal to mankind, in the body, the heretofore hidden things, in or- 
der that they may be induced to give thanks, glory, honor, and praise, 
thanksgiving, and power, to God in the highest ; in order that they may 
practice here the precepts he delivered to their forefathers, and reiterates 
now. through chosen mediums, by various manifestations. 
§ 15. Great and marvelous are thy works, 

Just and true are thy ways, 

Oh, Lord God, Most Holy and Loving. 

Look down, oh, Most Merciful God, on this deed, 

Look down, oh, Eternal and Unchangeable God, on thy Son, 

Look down, oh, God, Thou King of Saints, from thy Glory. 

2 



18 

Look with Mercy upon thy servants, oh, God, 
Look with Mercy upon all thy Adainic sons; 
Look with Mercy upon the Immortal part of Mortal Man. 

Look, oh. God, upon my work with favor, 
And bless it with thy Everlasting blessing ; 
For thine is the glory, honor, and praise, forever. 



Jtf. Oh, God ! thy mercy endureth forever, 
Let all the people praise the Lord, 
Whose mercy is abundant, and endureth forever. 

Let all the people praise Thee, yea, let every one ; 
Let each, who dwells on Earth, give thanks, 
And be grateful to Thee, for all thy blessings. 

Let all, who dwell beyond the grave, 

And who have not yet known Thee, oh, God, 

Let all the Spirits praise Thee, because Thou art Merciful. 

Let every creature praise the Lord, 

Yea, magnify His holy Name, 

For His everlasting Patience and Mercy. 

Let all that dwell in Earth, or Heaven, 

Let every creature swell the note of praise, 

For thy Mercy, oh, God, endureth forever and ever. 

Amen. 



PAPT TIIIED OF CHAPTER II. 

The Manner in which Men have Passed from Paradise. 

§ IT. When the spirits, or adams of Paradise, left the blissful abode, 
they left usually singly. One part would desire to remain at least a lit- 
tle longer, hoping that, perhaps, the separation would be endurable, and 
the enjoyments heretofore experienced might yet satisfy the longing soul, 
or being, which was themselves, or itself. Vain hope ! If separation 
for a time had been unbearable without loss of happiness, or deficiency 
of it creating new desires for it, the separation declared and believed 
to be eternal, except by the remaining part following the first half, was 
soon found unbearable indeed. A considerable hesitation may take place, 
and the doubt, or period of temptation, may be prolonged for a considera- 
ble space of time, because it not unfrequently happens that the one part 
was far from being discontented. In this case, the motive for leaving, 
is to find and love the pairital part that preceded it into the unknown vale 
of Experience. This makes a most affectionate disposition manifest in the 
body. The nature of such, feels always the want of a being to love. It 
is one of God's wise provisions, that, in general, the male part precedes 
the female, and thus it is, that woman's love is distinguished from man's : 
though occasional exceptions mar the uniformity of this manifestation, 
and some men love like women, and some women, like men. But each is 
perceived by men to be incongruous and unsexlike. But, are there, by 



19 

chance, any meetings of these pairital parts in the body, and are they then 
again united ? The adam, or eve. that leaves Paradise, leaves all recol- 
lection of that state behind it: or, more exactly speaking, the body, or 
earthly covering of the soul, prevents the soul from having its memory. 
By a law of progress, or by nature of the earthly body, there is, too, formed 
a spiritual body, which so envelops the soul, that even when the grosser 
part is left upon the earth, and the Spirit soars beyond Paradise to that 
outer circle in which commences the Spirit Life, the spiritual body is of 
such a nature, that even yet it obscures, or entirely hides in most cases, 
the memory of Paradise, and, of course, a knowledge of the Spirit body, to 
which its pairital half is assigned. As I have before stated, it is only in 
the highest circle of the Third Sphere, that this knowledge, or memory, 
returns to the Spirit, and that it is then enabled to search for, and find 
that part of itself necessary to its perfect harmony and full enjoyment, 
even of heaven. So that if by a most unlikely chance, two pairital halves 
should meet on Earth, or in the lower circles of the Spirit- World, they 
would not know each other ; and if even they should be married on Earth, 
in the body, the result might not be any greater harmony than usually falls 
to the lot of husband and wife. For the bodies of men greatly affect the 
character, and though this does not reduce the responsibility of the man, 
it is a fact, that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. It 
is a fact, that the cerebral formation is greatly inherited; and that, though 
it may be modified by education, and controlled by reason in most cases, 
and by God's help in all, yet its influence is so great as to establish the 
character and fondness for particular enjoyments, or, as they are usually 
called, passions, so as to leave nothing more visible of the soul, or adam, 
than the great pervading desire which impelled it to come to Earth, and 
that only faintly perceptible in most cases. The pairital, or adamic na- 
ture, is then so obscured, that the natural partner not only is unrecognizable, 
but very often would be a most unfit husband, or wife. Besides this, the 
interval of their respective appearance is frequently more than a life- 
time: so that their meeting on Earth is altogether most unlikely., and 
from no reason desirable. But, then, in the Spirit-World, do they not 
have some idea of their relationship, or could they not give the one or the 
other some assistance ? They do not, till they have reached the circle I 
have named for it, unless the knowledge is communicated to them for some 
wise purpose, which is often done, in order that the one or the other may 
be assisted ; and this often takes place in quite a low circle, but only 
when one has been advanced to, at least, 1 
Sphere, which is the Circle of Good- works 



20 



CHAPTER III. 



THE LOCATION OF THE SPIRIT-WORLD. 



PART FIRST. 

What becomes of the Unfinished Men or Children. 

§18. There is often slight experience of Good and Evil in the "body, as 
is well known, from early death of the body. Sometimes, even the soul, 
or adam, barely enters the body, and in a few moments leaves for the 
Spirit-World. These cases form, then ; exceptions to the general rule, for 
they can not be said to experience Good or Evil on Earth, and where are 
they to pass through, or acquire that which I have declared necessary to 
their full enjoyment of the bliss of Heaven? 

§ 19. In entering upon this subject, I feel, and know, that I shall give 
your faith a severe trial. I can scarcely expect even my medium, to re- 
ceive with perfect confidence, and entire conviction, what I am about to 
unfold. Yet, this is one of the most striking objections to the plan I have 
unfolded previously, and one that is well taken by reasonable and inquir- 
ing minds. The first case we will consider, is that of a body taken from 
the soul, at an early age, say in adolescence. The faculties of the mind 
have not been fully matured. The experiences of Life in body are so far 
from exhausted, that they lack the knowledge of all the more important 
relations of life, and of that independence which can not be thoroughly de- 
veloped till separation from the paternal hearth takes place. Man, indeed, 
should be a husband and a father, as I have shown in the recapitulation 
of his gifts, which I gave in the Second Book of The History of the Origin 
of All Things. But of all the parts of life in the body, the married is the 
most developing to the soul, or adam, of man. Of all the experiences^ 
there are no others that so fully and urgently press him to ask God for 
help. The trials and discords, the love and the joy, the toils and the con- 
solations of this state, are more vivifying to the soul, more elevating to the 
intellect; more absorbing to the passions, more reconciling to God, and 
more a foretaste of Heaven, than all the other conditions of life combined . 
Indeed, every character must be an incomplete one that has not passed 
through this experience. How, then, is this deficiency to be restored, or 
filled up ? How shall it be shown that the majority of mankind, dying 
ununited by the conjugal relation, are fitted by experience to stand in 
their places at the Last Day ? You know that I, myself, did not have this 
experience in the body; and therefore, according to my own showing, 
thus far, must be an imperfect; inexperienced, and imperfectly developed 
spirit. 

§ 20. The Goodness of God is such, that he provides for every want. 



21 

His Wisdom is such, that it is fully provided for. He has provided for 
this deficiency. First, He leads the man in the body to have such rela- 
tions to others in the body, who have such experience, as (by the knowl- 
edge the man will have, by memory of the others becoming fully possess- 
ed by him in the Third, or Memory sphere, and in the Fifth Circle of it) 
that he possesses within himself their experience, as if it were his own. 
Second, He provides that he shall have a kind of experience, by an associ- 
ation directly with a man still in the body, having all those relations and 
experiences. This association is that of guardian angel, and is a part of 
the duty and pleasure of spirits in the Sixth Circle of the Second Sphere. 
Thus, by this double provision, the soul attains that knowledge and expe- 
rience which is necessary for its own joy and bliss. But, then, if I entered 
the Spirit- World under such favorable auspices as I have described, I must 
have progressed so rapidly as not to have remained in the Sixth, or other 
circles of the Second, or even the Third Sphere, long enough to have been 
guardian angel to a man during his bodily life ? This is a good and proper 
doubt, or objection. But it must be remembered, I, like all other spirits 
in the higher circles and spheres, possess and include all the lower expe- 
riences and powers, and can exercise the duties of any one of the lower, 
though it is not often done, because there are enough to perform the lower 
duties in lower circles, and the higher spirits must not, and do not, desire 
to neglect their proper and peculiar ones. 

§ 21. The other case to be elucidated, is that of an infant body, which 
receives a soul, and immediately, or very soon afterward, expires. Tho 
process here varies, inasmuch as the want of experience is greater, and 
the knowledge, or experience, of Good and Evil is too slight to allow of 
the soul, so fresh from Paradise, being placed in the usual course of pro- 
gress in the Circles and Spheres of the Spirit- World. This inexperienced 
spirit must receive in Heaven, or the Spirit- World, an education : and the 
course of instruction is so far uniform that I may describe it to you, and 
is so simple that you can easily understand it if you desire to know the 
Truth. 

The child-spirit receives its instruction from such spirits as desire to 
experience in themselves the relation, or the resemblance of the relation, 
of parent. They give it instruction in such elementary knowledge as is 
usually given in the life from which it so early escaped; for, although, 
the residence was so brief, it was long enough to clothe the soul, or adam, 
with a spiritual body, as fully as if it had reached the age of threescore 
and ten. Then the child becomes initiated into such studies as the parents 
would have chosen for it. For, though the child is thus early removed, 
the parent is not then relieved of responsibility : his works, or intentions, 
attend the child-spirit to the Spirit- World, and there measurably affect its 
development. Still, the Mercy of God tempers the injuries that the child's 
spirit might otherwise receive from its parents' intended neglect, or incom- 
petence. For no serious deprivation is experienced from siich a cause. 
The intention, or desire, of the parent to benefit the child is more surely 
carried out, so that the child-spirit shall not lose any thing by its removal 
thus early, but may gain. The ease of barbarous and savage nations is 
different, and will be hereafter explained. The child-spirit, then, receives 



22 

an education comparable to what it would have had on Earth, and being 
passed through this course, enlarges in development of its spiritual body, 
till it reaches the adolescent form, where it remains ever after stationary. 
When arrived at this form and state of mental, or spiritual, cultivation, it 
is passed through the same process as if it had lived on Earth till it had 
arrived at that age, or period, of bodily life, and so becomes fitted for the 
enjoyment of the higher Spheres. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER III. 

The Explanation of Paradisical Discrepancies. 

$ 22. The disparity of social condition and the difference of education 
of those in various conditions of bodily life, might be supposed to influence 
the future of Spirits. It does influence it. but not always nor generally 
as is fondly supposed by those fortunate, as they suppose, possessors of 
knowledge or mental cultivation, and of those who live in the more culti- 
vated or polished circles of society. Before God all are equal. But yet, 
He requires a full account from every servant of his, or from every spirit 
that ought to have been his servant, of the deeds done in the body ; and 
the responsibility of that servant, or spirit, is precisely in proportion to the 
talents, or opportunities, given to him for proper employment. He who 
lays up his talent in a napkin, designing to restore it as he received it, 
unimproved, will find no receipt in full prepared for him. Improvement 
and progress are required, as much as retention of good, and to whom 
much is given, from him much is required. So, oh, ye learned ! and oh, 
ye rich, or polished, people ! think not that you will be rulers over many 
in the Life to come, unless ye are worthy to hear, Well done, good and 
faithful servant, thou hast been faithful so far as I have trusted thee ; en- 
ter thou into the joy of thy Lord. 

§ 23. Every soul must give an account of the deeds done in the body, 
and if, as I have explained, the body did not continue long enough to let 
the soul work out its experience, it must receive it in the world to come. 
Not that in the world to come there is probation, or acting of evil to such 
spirits, but that they witness and sorrow for the evil, and improve well 
the opportunities afforded them of gathering from the experience of others, 
and on that depends their progress. But very often the poor man, hav- 
ing had few opportunities to serve God, and fewer, perhaps, to serve his 
fellow-men, occupies the place of Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, 
while he who had been regarded by men as high in sanctity, may be 
where Dives was, which was where Lazarus could not come. And 
where was that, if the higher spirits can place themselves in the powers 
j&f the lower ones ? The higher spirits exercise only the good of the lower 
ones. And some are so low, that their manifestations are mostly of bad, 
or evil. With such the good can not associate. There is a great gulf be- 
tween. The gulf that is impassable, except from the lower to the higher. 
That gulf is separation from God. Reconciliation with Him, submission 
to Him, enables a spirit, or a man, to cross it on the pinions of His Mercy 
and Love. Thi- is the instruction to be drawn from that parable. Yet 



23 

this is not all. There are many other things I have to tell you respecting 
it, but ye can not bear them now. The last shall be first, and the first 
last. That is, the end of all things shall be, when the first state of man 
and the last state of man shall be one. When all shall know God, from 
the least to the greatest, and all who know him shall serve him j and all 
who serve shall love him ; and all who love him shall be one with him \ 
and shout again in one united song of praise, 

Great and marvelous are thy works, 

Lord God Almighty ; 

Just and true are all thy ways, 

Thou King of Saints. 

S 24. Let us proceed to establish the knowledge of God's works and 
ways among men, by singing to him a new song. 

Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, 
Just and true are all thy ways, thou King of Saints. 

Great works are the manifestations of great Love ; 
Just ways are the manifestations of great Power ; 
Power and Love are the highest manifestations of Deity. 



§ 25. Let all the people praise the Lord, 
Yea, let all the people praise Him, 
For all His Mighty Works, and for all His Glorious Mercies. 

Establish thy Power, oh, God, Almighty! 
Manifest thy Mercy, oh, Lord of heaven ! 
Rule us with Mercy, and establish us in thy Power, oh, Lord ! thou mighty King of Saints. 

Let all the people praise thy Holy name ; 
Let the Earth raise its voice, and the Heavens rejoice, 
For God rules and reigns, and of His Government there shall be no end. 

Let every thing that dwells on Earth, 
Let all who make their Hope in Heaven, 
Let every knee bow, and every tongue praise the Lord. 

For unto Him be evermore Love and Praise, 
Unto Him be evermore Honor and Glory, 
For He Loves us, and will have us all to love Him forever. 

Let all the Earth, and the people of it, 
Let all the Floods, and the waters thereof, 
Praise the Name of God, who alone Exists forever. 

Let all that lives, love the Lord God, and praise His Name; 

Let all that is within, and all that dwells without, give Him Glory, 

Both now, and forever, and forevermore. Amen. 



PAET THIRD OF CHAPTER III. 

The Head of (he Corner. ' 

k 26. Let us all endeavor to find in this Book beauties, and we will bo 

gratified. Let us all try to derive instruction from it, and we will bo 

benefited. Let us all seek to become its believers, and we shall be es- 



24 

tablished. Let us all desire to practice its precepts, and we will be puri- 
fied ; and not only purified, but glorified ; and not only glorified, but raised 
to God's right hand. For God's powers are no more restricted than for- 
merly ; neither is his Love, or his Mercy, -lessened by its long exercise ; 
but the works I call you to do you can not do, except as the Father is 
in you, by his Spirit the Comforter, that will lead you and guide you into 
all Truth. And I have heretofore told you how you are to obtain the 
residence of this Comforter; it is by submission to God; by prayers to 
Him to enlighten and to help you, by earnest seeking, constant desire, un- 
ceasing prayer to God, who is, though so far above you, ever present : 
though so Infinite in all his attributes, yet ever feeling pity for your short- 
comings, or your transgressions. God is everywhere, and you need not 
fear that He does not know your slightest thought, and heed your weakest 
prayer. But prayer of the lips He does not accept. If you would be ben- 
efited by prayer, it must be that of the heart. If you would submit to 
God, you must believe His actions ever right, His dispensations ever mer- 
ciful, His afflictions the means of bringing your mind, or heart, into a better 
state ; and though reason may convince a man that all this is so, reason 
can not induce a man to so act as if he believed them so ; the only power 
that can do that is God's ; and he who sincerely asks help to believe thus 7 
and act thus, will have it; the Comforter will come to him then; the 
peace of God which passes all understanding, will be experienced in pro- 
portion to the completeness of the submission to God, and the everlasting 
courts of Heaven will swell with anthems of thanksgiving, that a child is 
born into reconciliation with God; would you, oh, Reader, like to experi- 
ence this joyful life, and prepare yourself to enter those Harmonious courts? 
then pray to God in deep humiliation, in earnest desire to be His servant, 
and do His Will, and your prayer will be heard, and not only heard, but 
answered and granted ; and not only heard and granted, but you will 
know that it is so heard and granted ; for you will find within your own 
internals, in the depth of the mind's consciousness, a conviction, or impres- 
sion, of God's answer to your prayer. Do you want more than this ? do 
you want an outward sign ? Then are you in the outer darkness. You 
are in Egyptian darkness, and your wanderings may be led by a pillar of 
cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, or what may be compared to it; 
but they only will never lead you to the Promised Land of Heavenly 
bliss. Your wanderings may serve to purify you, if you profit by the dis- 
pensation you will receive : but the joy of thy Lord can only be found 
inwardly, where no priest can enter ; and no preaching can avail or excite 
in that sanctuary of the soul, of which the Holy of Holies was an emblem, 
and where only the angels of God can dwell in His presence. Let it, then, 
be your earnest endeavor, your daily effort, your nightly prayer, that you 
may seek God as He would be sought, and serve Him as He would be 
served ; so that you may do your part toward having His Will done in 
Earth, as in Heaven. Then, will you find your mind stayed on God, and 
your reliance on His Mercy, and Goodness, and Love, can not be too strong, 
or too perfect. He will lead you to that living fountain of his love, at 
which, if you drink, you will be filled to thirst no more. He will give 
you that peace which the world can not give, neither can it take it away ; 



25 

for that peace is bliss from Heaven; a direct emanation of God's Love, 
and nothing that is Earthy, can perceive, or touch, or have any knowl- 
edge of it ; much less oppose its existence, or destroy its completeness. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE FORMATION OF MATTER. 



PART FIRST. 

The Sons of God Shouted for Joy. 

§ 27. When the foundations of Earth were laid, the Sons of God shout- 
ed for joy. 

This has puzzled many sincere inquirers, and the very brief explana- 
tion I gave in another book, will not satisfy the doubts of all sincere in- 
quirers. I will, therefore, still further explain, that the Creation of Mat- 
ter was an act of the Word, under the Law, or Will-Declared of God. 
But this Law and Action, as I have before shown, was not instantaneously 
executed, but only commenced immediately its progressive Action and ex- 
ecution, so that the Law spoken accomplished the result, but the action 
continued during a very extensive period over illimitable space. By this 
law, matter was called into existence. From what did God create, or 
cause, matter to be made ? Did the Word find materials already existing 
to make matter from? or did the Word make the materials, or matter 
itself, from something, or nothing ? The primitive tradition does not en- 
lighten you on this point, but I will endeavor to gratify your desire to 
know, your desire to see the completeness, and the order, and the beauty 
of God's creation. 

§ 28. The Word proceeded to form matter, under God's Law or Decree, 
by generation from nothing. That is, nothing as yet having existence, ex- 
cept God and the Word, and the Word being an emanation from God, the 
Word had nothing to form matter from. For God's essence is above mat- 
ter, being indeed, above Spirit, which is a high manifestation or develop- 
ment of matter. There was, then, only Itself and God ; and both were of 
a nature, or essence, so superior to matter, that matter could not be formed 
from either, or both, without as much modification as would make them 
different from themselves. God, then, gave the Word His Power, for the 
execution of His Will : and the Word by the Power of God created mat- 
ter. By the Word all things were made, that are made ; and without it 
was not any thing made, that was made. But of what was matter made ? 
If matter was made from any other thing, God. excepted, then what was 
that other thing made from ? For whatever exists as made, was the work 
sf the Word. The Word made matter, for matter exists ; and if the Word 



26 

did not make it, it was not made. If it was not made, it must have been 
God, or a part of Him ; which I have already said it was not. It was 
made, then, from nothing. It was, in fact, created ; for creation implies 
production from what was not. Creation and re-production are different ; 
a mechanic makes by re-production : by changing matter to another form, 
or combination. God, or the Word, makes by Creation, as well as by 
Re-formation. Creation, then, of itself, implies production from nothing. 
A calling into existence, or into a state of being, that which had in no 
form, existence, or state of being. The Word, then, created all things 
from nothing, because it formed matter from nothing. And from matter 
all things are formed, or re-formed, or re-produced. Thus God is the great 
Creator, because His Fiat decreed, and His Power delegated to the Word 
produced, or created all things. 

§ 29. The Word generated matter from nothing, as I have stated. But 
the Word had no other substance to produce the generation by, than the 
essence of Itself and God. What difference was there between the Word, 
and God, except that the Word was a part and finite, though to mortal 
comprehension, infinite ! None. God made the Word in his own image, 
from Himself, and gave it such power and attributes, and extent of power 
and attributes, as it pleased Him to bestow. The Word, then, possessing 
certain powers, exercised the powers in the generation from Itself of mat- 
ter ! The Word made matter from nothing ; but it was made by action, 
and the action was reliance on God's power, and production from Itself of 
principles, or elements, which were capable of infinite combination with 
each other. Is not the essence of God's substance, then, one substance, or 
essence, or element? It is God. It is unexplainable to finite beings. It 
is. It has ever been. It ever will be. That is all we can know of 
it. The nature of it is Infinite, and, therefore, can not be conceived of by 
finite beings. So I will leave merely for you, the statement, that the 
Word generated from itself matter ; and produced by that generation dif- 
ferent elements, which, when infinitely combined, show themselves in all 
the matter, or shapes and combinations, or agglomeration of matter, which 
men or spirits can see, hear, touch, or in any way can become cognizant 
of. Having brought forth from itself these elements, or first principles, 
of matter, the Word breathed its prayer to God for a continuance of His 
Aid and Power, to form them into such shapes as the Law, or Declared- 
Will of God, required. The processes of change, these infinite combina- 
tions proceeded with constant action, and unintermitting force, by laws of 
progress carrying out the Design of God, till they became gases ; then, 
from the combinations produced, fluids ; and, still further ones, solids. Of 
these, it is well known there is a great variety, of which the highest form 
is metal, and the highest form of metal is Gold. Thus was matter form- 
ed. Some of the processes of its developments, by which the solar systems 
were formed, I have detailed in the Second Book of the History of the 
Origin of All Things. But the Order, or Law, by which Universes were 
formed, is different. There is also another Law for each higher associa- 
tion like Ccelums, Universe- CcBlums, etc. But these I will leave for the 
present, and devote to the next Part the consideration, or explanation, of 
the Creation, or Formation of Spirit. 



27 

PART SECOND OF CHAPTER IV 
The Formation of Spirit Matter. 

$ 30. Spirit, too, had to be formed, for there are bodies Terrestrial, and 
bodies Celestial. There is a spiritual body, and a natural body. Flesh 
and blood can not enter the kingdom of Heaven: but yet, bodies are 
there, and various kinds of bodies in various degrees of glory, as Paul de- 
clared. There are in the Spirit-World, principalities, powers, dominions, 
thrones, angels, and ministering spirits. By using these terms, Paul 
meant to convey to the believers of that and succeeding ages, the knowl- 
edge that there were different orders of spiritual beings, and that these 
different orders of spirits had different degrees of glory, some of which 
might be compared to the refulgent sun, some to the reflective moon, and 
that, certainly, they differed as one star differs from another in glory. 
But yet, it is evident, that unless Heaven is a state of progress, these ir- 
regularities could not exist, unless God failed to secure the reformation, or 
reconciliation, of every soul ; or else He capriciously, or with partiality, 
made them differ in glory from no fault of theirs. But I have shown you, 
that Heaven, or the Spirit-World is a state of progress : and that though 
all will eventually be joint heirs with Christ, and the other Sons of God, 
yet at present, the inhabitants of each Sphere, and each Sphere, differ 
from the others in glory. The bodies Celestial, then, are of various kinds, 
according to their period, or state of progress. 

§ 31. The bodies of these spirits, or adams, or souls' of men, are spiritual. 
John speaks of the three kinds of substances, the spirit, the water, and the 
blood. The last is the body ; the first, the soul ; the other is what we 
have, in accordance with the custom of men, called spirit ; yet, the idea 
which men receive from the term spirit, is something immaterial. The 
only thing about man truly immaterial is the soul, the emanation from 
God. and the part of Himself which he formed into an image of Himself. 

$ 32. This soul, or adam, as it would be proper to call it, is, after all, 
the real man. The body of earthy matter is a covering which invests it 
during its sojourn in the last six circles of the First sphere, the body of 
spirit is the covering which invests it till it reaches the Seventh Circle of 
the Seventh Sphere. Here it returns to its original form and appearance, 
which it possessed in Paradise. Here it is again male and female, as it 
was in Paradise. Here it again possesses perfect happiness, but here- eon- 
joined with action which is necessary to make perfect or imperfect happi- 
ness lasting. 

§ 33. The spiritual body is a production from the earthly one, or rather, 
it is a consequence of the production or investment of the earthy. The 
last state of the spiritual body is one of great refinement and attenuation. 
The first state is more gross, and less different from earthly bodies. But 
the change is very gradual, and almost imperceptible to the consciousness 
of the soul, or adam. At least, it reaches the Seventh Circle of the Sev- 
enth Sphere, as the earthy body approaches death except that knowledge 
leaves no apprehension or doubt connected with the change. Few have 
yet reached high enough to know what this change is by experience ; few 



28 

spirits, indeed, compared, as of course I mean, with the whole number, 
know that such a change must take place. They view the spiritual, as 
immortal, while it is only the adam, or soul, that is immortal. 

§ 34. What, then, is this dissolution of the Spirit form and substanco 
which thus takes place ? It is merely a dispersion into space, or unor- 
ganized spirit matter, or essence, or elements, or principles, of this refined 
mass of spirit. It is not corruptible, for it is the incorruptible body which 
takes the place of the corruptible ; it is the last remains of that fall from 
Paradise, which the adam, or soul, was taught to consider as a degrada- 
tion, but which it submitted to, because action was so necessary to its hap- 
piness. 

§35. Does the soul, or adam, fear this change? Oh, no; perfect love 
casteth out fear, and the love of God is perfect, according to the nature 
and capacity of the adam, for perfection. The change, then, is looked for- 
ward to as a release from an incumbrance, for by this time the soul is 
educated to act without the spiritual body; even as experience in the 
earthly body enables the Spiritual body to act without it. And I have 
shown you, that when this experience in the body is wanting, it has to be 
supplied in the next state by education. But in the Sixth Circle of the 
Seventh Sphere all are prepared to dispense at last and forever with that, 
which, for such a great length of time, in some cases it might almost be 
said a great length of eternity, has served them, and been looked upon as 
an inherent part of itself, or of the being called adam. 

§ 36. Let all that is within me praise the Lord ; 

For He has fearfully and wonderfully made me ; 
Let all the souls of men glorify God, 
For He divests them of all imperfections. 

Let every adam praise the Lord, 

For His most wonderful Providences ; 

Tea, let each soul magnify His Power, 

Who is Eternal, and Everlasting, and Ever Acting. 

Behold the workmanship of Thy Word, 

And the results of Thy Holy Law, 

Established from the beginning, and continuing to the End ; 

Oh, God, behold them with Thy undying, undiminishing Love. 

Be merciful, oh, Lord, to them who are ignorant, 
And receive not thy glorious revelations ; 
Oh, God, let not thy remembrance afflict them very sore, 
But be pleased to let them know thy Everlasting Mercy. 

Let every tongue of Earth, and every voice of Heaven, 
Let every adam shout for joy ; 

For unto Earth and Heaven has God revealed His Glory, 
And made known his inexhaustible Love. 

Let no man take Thine Honor for his, 
Let no man presume to speak Thy Will, 
Let no man kneel to aught but Thee, 
Or bow down his soul before any idol. 



29 



Let all who will conic to God, be watchful ; 

Let all who desire to serve Him, be attentive ; 

Let all who will be instructed, teach others; 

And let no man turn back, who desires the Lord for his portion. 

Let all that i3 within me praise the Lord, 

For He is Merciful, and Loving, and Kind ; 

Let all that seek Him, follow me, 

And praise Him whose mercy endureth forever. Amen. 



PAET THIRD OF CHAPTER IY. 

The Formation of Earthy Matter. 

$ 37. The formation of spirit, as we have in compliance with usage 
called the refined material, or substance, that exists in the lower Heavens, 
was, like all other formed things, by the Word. But in all cases the Word 
acts in God's Will, and acting in His Will has, consequently, His Power ; 
for God's Power always executes His Will in such manner as His Will 
chooses to have it execute it. Spirit is the more refined elements of mat- 
ter, which the Word at the time of the formation, or generation of matter, 
produced. Spirit is matter ; hut yet it is such matter as earthy matter 
can not take any note of, it can not see it, or feel it. The spirit matter 
pervades the earthy, even as God pervades all Creation. For God not 
only fills all space, but He extends beyond all that is properly called 
space, Infinitely. Spirit pervades earthy matter, and extends beyond it. 
It envelops, as it were, the earthy substances, the atmosphere and caloric 
included ; and it also fills, or pervades, them. Spirit is no more produced 
from earth, than earth is produced from Spirit. They are different com- 
binations, or in some instances the same elements which were the produc- 
tion of the Word, as I have described. The Word operates continually 
by God's laws upon these elementary principles, and upon all the products 
of their combinations. The Word produced, or created Spirit from Itself, 
as it created earth from Itself, by separating the elements, or first princi- 
ples of its substance, from its own body, or substance, which was a part 
of God. Then matter is a part of God ? Not so ; God is in matter, and 
matter is a part of God, in that it is a part of His Creation, which is His, 
and belongs of right, and in fact, to Him. But it is a possession of God's, 
not a part of His substance. For, if God were to annihilate matter, as 
we well believe He could, His own substance would suffer no diminution. 
Tf, then. God made the Word from Himself, and the Word made matter 
from Itself, how is it that matter is not formed from God's substance, in- 
asmuch as it proceeds from what proceeds from Him ? This is a difficult 
question for me to answer \ because it is difficult to make you an answer 
that you can understand. No one who desires to establish his own, or 
other men's former views, will be able to understand it. The light of 
reason can never elucidate it, but God's Wisdom will aid sincere inquirers 
after Truth. Let us pray, then, to Him who can enlighten our minds, and 



30 

elevate our faculties, to do so. Let us pray God to give us understanding 
of His great Truths, which it pleases Him to place before us, even now, 
while you are in the body, and buried in carnal, or earthy desires. God 
is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-granting Deity. He is too powerful to 
feel deprivation by His grants, or impoverishment by giving abundantly. 

4 38. The Word, as 1 have described, produced matter from Itself by 
the separation from Itself of certain elementary principles, which were 
capable of combinations into matter of different kinds. Thus, spirit is tho 
purest and most refined of these combinations and solids, and ultimately, 
metal is the most perfect form of the grosser, or earthy combinations. 
There must, then, be a line of separation between them, for metals appear 
to be further removed from spirit than any other earthly substance ; and 
if they are its most perfect combination, or form, they do not evidence 
that it becomes near spirit by approaching perfection? Yet, metals are 
the highest form of earthy matter, and the lowest form of spirit matter 
is intangible to men in the body ! The highest form of spirit matter is no 
more and no less to men than the lowest, as far as their present conscious- 
ness is concerned. But yet, strange as it may appear, metals do approach 
spirit matter more nearly, in the perfection of their quality, than invisible 
gases. This is, because gases are more simple, less combined than metals. 
Metals are irreducible by men to their constituent parts; so is spirit. 
Metals are pure, so is spirit; each in its own degree. Gold, the most 
perfect metal, is incorruptible by atmospheric, or elementary action. So 
is spirit. Yet Gold is as far from being Spirit, as any Gas. For there is 
a line of separation between earth and spirit matter. The boundaries are 
distinct, and the one kind of matter no more passes into the other, than 
either passes into Divinity. Divinity is the name by which I will hereaf- 
ter distinguish that which is of the same substance, or essence, as God. 
And from what I have already revealed, you will perceive that the adam, 
or soul of man, is Divinity. There must be, then, two sets of el- 
ementary substances, or principles, which were produced, or created, by 
the Word, from which all things were made that are made, and without 
which was not any thing made that was made. There were two pro- 
ceedings of the Word, by which the two sets were formed. The first form- 
ed was the earthy, and then the heavenly, or spiritual. From the first 
proceeded all the, to men in the body, visible creation; from the second, all 
that which constitutes the Spirit-World. 

§ 39. The earthy matter being farther removed in quality and want of 
vitality from Divinity, it would appear to men more difficult to produce it 
by modification of the substance, or essence, of God. So it would be. 
But as I stated early, in discussing this subject, matter was created, not 
formed, from pre-existing material, or essence. Matter was produced from 
nothing. But it was produced under Law. It was not arbitrarily estab- 
lished from nothing, and without rule, or by chance. The Word opera- 
ting upon Its own essence, dissolved Itself into combinations, and these 
combinations having assumed certain forms, became the models for the new 
creation. The model made, or formed thus, was a production from pre- 
existing materials, or substances; but the created copy was a production 
from nothing, by the Power of God operating through the Word. But 



31 

how could this production from nothing, this true creation, take place ? 
First, The Word breathed its prayer to God for help, and aid from His Pow- 
er ; then It proceeded to operate upon the model it had formed, and to Will 
the appearance and existence of the substances, or essences, the model 
represented. Those substances, essences, or first principles of matter, 
appeared and existed. How? you say. God knows how. Then you 
must know, you will say to me, if you are one with Him in knowledge ! 
I do know how, and I have told you how. But the particular manner, 
the details of the operation, these we want explained? Poor grasping 
worm: little atom of Creation; you can not conceive of the Creator's 
processes. You can not conceive of Infinite operations. You can only 
receive the result, and the general outline ; and this is all the knowledge 
that you can have, till you have passed the Fourth Sphere, upon this par- 
ticular question. Well ; are you satisfied with this answer ? Not at all. 
But would you be better satisfied with any other? Certainly not. I 
either know, or I do not know, how it was done. If I know, you ought to 
believe me when I tell you, You have been told enough. If I do not 
know, you ought not to want me to tell you a lie, or a fable, as Truth, on 
such a high subject, or any other subject. But you say, I might believe, 
if you told me and it appeared reasonable. Ah, that is it ! If it is ac- 
cording to your notions of the way it was done, you would believe that, 
and reject the remainder, if that did not suit as well. So you would only 
condemn yourselves. Be satisfied, then, that I do not bring greater con- 
demnation upon you : for he who knowcth His Father's Will, and doeth it 
not, is worse than he who docth it without knowledge, or, without knowl- 
edge, doeth it not. 

§ 40. Let us, then, show, by our declaration, that Spirit matter was made 
in the same manner as Earthy matter ; and that the great difference be- 
tween the two, is in the component materials, or substances, of which its 
essence, or first principle, consists. For notwithstanding there are in each 
kind of matter a large number of first principles, or essences, of very sim- 
ple nature, yet capable of vast, almost Infinite combination, yet there is 
for each, one principal component, which is the foundation, or principal el- 
ement, which enters into every form, and part, or parcel, of each and 
every combination, or mass, or atom, of its kind of matter. This, it is, 
which confers upon it its distinctive character. This clement is, for 
Earthy matter, Magnetism. For Spirit matter, Od, or Odic Force, as 
Riechenbaeh chose to name it. But he found this Od present in earthy 
matter very extensively ; and magnetism does not appear to be any more 
general in Earthy matter than Od, as far as his investigations went ! 
True, Od prevails in, or pervades every form and combination, every atom 
of matter, as well as magnetism. But that is because Spirit is in all that 
is Earthy. But the Earthy is not in the Spiritual; consequently, Mag- 
netism pertains particularly and exclusively to Earthy matter, and Od 
pervades both. It is thus that Spirit is more simple than Earth, and yet, 
more refined. It is, too, by this arrangement, that spirit can take cog- 
nizance of Earthy material, and can exert upon it an influence, or con- 
trol. It is also by a similar arrangement that God preserves to His 
adams, or procedures of his own essence, a knowledge and control of mat- 



32 

ter, after they have ceased to possess earthly, or spiritual bodies ; for the 
Divinity, as I agreed to term it, pervades both Spirit matter and Earthy 
matter. Wherever Od is present, there is Divinity; but yet Divinity is 
not necessarily accompanied by Od. So spirit matter can not see, or take 
cognizance of Divinity, or of spirits in the Seventh Circle of the Seventh 
Sphere, unless they choose to manifest themselves by the assumption of 
particles of spirit matter, which they have power and knowledge to do, 
under, and in accordance with, the laws of their being. So, too, neither 
they nor other spirits can be visible to men in the body, or to animals of 
Earth, unless they choose to assume, or attract, into their spiritual bodies, 
or forms, particles of earthy matter, or matter containing magnetism. It 
is by this means, that all apparitions of spirits, all rapping, all writing, is 
made evident to men in the body. But, then, there is, as I have said, an- 
other mode of making men suppose they have experienced these things in 
a bodily experience, which is by psychological impression ; that is, by an 
act of od, of spirit matter, upon the od, or spirit matter in the bodily form 
of men existing in an earthly body. There is also a further, or other way 
of impressing men in the outward body, by an operation of adamic force, 
or od upon od, and preparing it to receive the influence of the soul, or 
adam, or divinity, upon the soul, or adam, or divinity, within its material 
form, or body ; and it is in this way that I act upon this medium, by act- 
ing directly upon his soul, or internal essence, derived from God, and com- 
ing from Him into Paradise, and thence into the body of Earth. It is by 
this operation that I reveal to him what I will have him write, and not 
by the lower process of acting upon his spiritual perceptions ; still, I com- 
menced training him by operation upon his spirit, as I have stated, and, 
indeed, permitted him once to witness by his bodily senses, an earthy 
manifestation of a spirit's presence. He believed that to be what it pro- 
fessed to be. Then, after his patience had been exercised long, I allowed 
the next manifestation to be made to him spiritually. He wrote by a 
spirit's controlling his outward arm. Then finding him desirous to have 
truth unfolded without regard to his former opinions, and seeing in him 
reason to believe he would continue to hold fast that which he might be 
trained to receive, I persevered in efforts to bring him into such reliance 
on me, as would make him a patient, and enduring, and faithful medium 
of divinity. He, then, is more than a mental medium ! He is a Divine 
medium. But inasmuch as you have already perceived that spirit medi- 
ums are not superior, as men, to others, either in intellect, morals, or ap- 
pearance, so you may also easily suppose, and correctly believe, that a 
Divine medium is in no wise superior to other men, in any thing that per- 
tains to the body, or the spirit. He is, as I have before told you, but a 
common man with limited education, extensive reading, ordinary morals, 
and indifferent form. His soul is no better prepared for the Spirit- World, 
because I have prepared it to be a correct medium of reception and trans- 
mission, than if I had never made a manifestation to him. He is to work 
out his own salvation with fear and trembling, and if he would be profited 
by the Truths he is the medium of, he must practice what I teach to all 
in common with him. And that teaching is as Divine to you as to him, 
as Holy to you as to him, and does not necessarily affect him any more 



33 

than it does any man who reads in the printed book the words I give him 
in his soul ; which delivers it to his spiritual perceptions ; which place it 
on his outward perceptions, or brain ; which directs his hand and muscles 
to move the pen. and record the sentiment in my words. This revelation 
of the process first becomes known to him by being now written. But he 
has called himself a mental medium ? So he has, but that is not his true 
designation, for he is more than a mental medium, though he is that also. 
He is, as I have said, a medium by the soul, or adam, or original Divine 
essence, or Divinity. He is a Divine medium. Still, I again warn you not 
to suppose, that therefore he is superior to you, or other men ; or that it gives 
him any spiritual, or bodily, advantages, except as he is obedient to me, and 
you by being obedient to me shall have the same. But neither is his po- 
sition an exclusive one, though at present it is only occupied by him. 
The time will come soon, when others will be prepared for a similar re- 
ception, and some of them may, and I hope will, be superior as mediums 
to him. But do I not know ? I have explained in the History of the Ori- 
gin of All Things, that I do not know what a Free- Willed being wall do, 
though I can form an estimate, or opinion, nearly reliable. Read those 
three Books if you want to, or hope to, understand this. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE LOVE OF GOD FOR MANKIND. 



PART FIRST. 

The Last Manifestations of GooVs Love. 

§ 41. The time for the withdrawal of the outward manifestations will 
soon arrive. They will first be general, then cease. General in the 
United States. But will they not extend to Europe, or other parts of the 
world ? Not so as to prevail over the combined power of the Dragon and 
False Prophet. They can only be reached by judgments, by fire from 
Heaven, that is, by God's love, which will send them wisdom by the 
mouths of His prophets, and will have them instructed by men, rather 
than by spirits. The preaching of Word there, maybe accompanied by 
signs, accompanying its reception, or delivery ; but it will be in a similar 
manner to the adjuncts of apostolic preaching. The mediums 1 shall em- 
ploy for this purpose will be such as are willing to go, and be offered up 
as martyrs in the great cause of progress ; in the great cause of enlighten- 
ing men as to their duties to God and to each other, the great cause of 
Christianity. True religion must be preached, not its semblance, or a 
form of man's invention. I shall need many for this work, and I shall 

3 



34 

call many, but some will faint by the way, and turn back from the trials, 
and persecutions, and martyrdoms that will await them. But there shall 
be found my two witnesses, raised from their prostration in that great 
city, which has endeavored wholly to hide, or kill them. That great city 
is the Roman Empire, partly under the power of the Dragon, and partly 
ruled by the False Prophet. Those two witnesses are Reason and Rev- 
elation. Who will come up to the help of God in this work ? Not my 
medium ! he does not feel ready to sacrifice father and mother, wife and 
child, body and goods, to me who am so wonderful in counsel. But 
there will be enough to obey my calls and do my work without him, if he 
does not come to a willingness to sacrifice all to God. He would gladly 
be willing, but he is not. He will try to be ; and may, or may not be, 
hereafter. So may you be half, or wholly willing, oh, reader ! Follow, 
then, after me, for I am meek and lowly, and had not, when in the body, 
a settled home. Come unto me all ye who are heavily laden, and I will 
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for my burden is light ; and 
whoever does not find it so, can always cast his burden upon God. God 
will help him, if he ask Him to. Come, then, to a knowledge of the 
truth as it is in me. Be no longer fearful, but believing. 



PART SECOND OF CHAPTER V. 

The Explanation of Form, or Manifestations of God's Love. 

§ 42. There is a point yet unexplained respecting the difference between 
impression and revelation, notwithstanding the apparently full explana- 
tion given in the Second Book of the History of the Origin of All Things. 
It will be asked by many, which of the two can claim, or class within it, 
the declarations by writing mediums ? and, supposing that answered Impres- 
sion, the more outward form of rapping must be revelation ? But these 
are not revelation, neither do they belong to either class of procedures 
from God, in any other sense than that he has authorized a communica- 
tion to exist between spirits in and out of the body. The spirits out of the 
body are permitted to declare what they know, and what they think they 
know, in accordance with certain rules, or laws, to which they are all 
subject. But as these spirits are not far advanced, their wills are only 
partially subjected to God's will. They, so far as they declare God's will, 
make revelation, or convey it by impression. But they convey generally 
their own thoughts, or desires ; or endeavor to establish their own theo- 
ries ; or accommodate themselves to the desires, if strong, of their medi- 
ums, or of their questioner. Many of these have reached the Sixth circle 
of the Second Sphere, which is the Circle of Good Works. This circle is 
influenced by ardent desires to do Good, but its knowledge is not sufficient 
to enable it to make men understand the true nature of even their own 
position, much less what is beyond it. Consequently, much that they 
see, in appearance (which has no existence, except as an impression made 
on their odic nature), they regard and describe as real, tangible, actually 
existent things, or courses of action. But the education and reformation, 



35 

or reconciliation, of spirits, is effected by a course of impressions which 
are not real, but imaginary. To the spirits they are as real ; and they 
are, therefore, improved by the exercise of their faculties upon these un- 
realities, or unexistent appearances. They are almost precisely like a 
psychological impression, as often shown experimentally in the body, by 
the will of one over another of less odic force, or vitality. In this state 
the impression exists according to the will of the operator, and the subject- 
experiences all the emotions, feels all the pain, expresses every sentiment, 
that properly belongs to the real situation, of which the only existing por- 
tion is in the mind, or memory, of the operator, and the imaginary belief 
of the subject. Thus spirits declare to men their experience, and thus it 
is that such contrary experiences are related. There are, though, certain 
rules, or laws, that govern these manifestations ; and the most important 
is, that they are not allowed to expose the offenses, or privacies, of man- 
kind, to motives of curiosity. Besides, they have certain boundaries in 
the nature of the impression they themselves have received, which prevent 
them from urging any but good actions upon men, and prevent them from 
making any man worse, or more evil, or impure, than he had been ; but, 
on the contrary, whatever change they effect in others, must be like that 
effected, and being effected, in them, from worse to better, or from partial 
to more complete good. No man, I confidently say, has been made worse 
by their communications, or precepts, unless he has, by his own former 
opinions, perverted them to the gratification of low or sensual desires, or 
desired, from unworthy motives, to find in them an excuse for evil con- 
duct. On the other hand, they have done already much good, and will do 
more. They have raised the hopes of despairing men, they have elevated 
the aspirations of wicked men, they have enlarged the comprehensions of 
benevolent men, they have relieved the doubts and fears of many earnest 
seekers after truth, and turned many to righteousness who had been with- 
out God in the world. 

They who are desirous to receive further benefit from them can be 
gratified. Because hereafter every medium of every kind, when ques- 
tioned by a sincere inquirer (that is, by an inquirer who desires a truthful 
answer, irrespective of his own, or others' opinions), will reply in their 
respective manner of communicating to this question truthfully : Are the 
Books given through L. M. Arnold, of Poughkeepsie, truthful, and what 
they purport to be ? This question, answered as it will be, should satisfy 
all that they have done enough good, and that hereafter their aid is un- 
necessary, at least for you who have so asked. Because, if they do not 
tell the truth, they can be no longer useful to you, while, if they do, you 
will be directed to a purer, and more perfect order of communication, 
which it has now pleased God to have conveyed to you, and all mankind. 

§43. Let every tongue praise thee, oh, God! 
For thy beautiful Eevelations, 
And for thy Loving kindnesses; 
Yea, Jet every tongue, and heart, and soul, praise Thee. 

For Thou, oh, God ! art -worthy to be praised ; 
For Thou, oh, God ! art ever Merciful and Kind, 



36 

And dost take pleasure in conferring good gifts, 
And hast crowned thy bestowments by a Loving Revelation. 

For all the world desired to know Thee, 
All the people desired to Love Thee ; 
Yea, they were willing and desirous, 
But invention of man frighted and restrained them. 

Let all that know Thee, know Thee more, 
Let all that love Thee, love Thee more, 
Let every Creature praise Thy Name, 
For out of darkness and confusion thou didst show forth Light and Order. 

Let the earth, and all its inhabitants, 
Let the sea, and all its glories, 
Let the Heavens, and all their magnificence, 
Show forth Thy praise, and give to Thee great glory. 

Let every church that owns Thy Name, 
Let every people that calls upon Thee, 
Tea, let the heathen that know Thee not, 
Praise Thee, and glorify Thy everlasting Mercy. 

For Thy Mercy endureth forever, 
And every one of Thy attributes is Loving, 
Every one of Thy attributes is Untiring, 
Tea, all that Thou hast is Infinite and Inexhaustible, 

Let us then, oh, God ! meet thy Favor, 
And return love for thy Goodness ; 
Let us, oh, God ! be thy children, 
And call upon Thee, our Father who art in Heaven. 

Let every creature praise the Lord, 
Tea, let every living soul give thanks ; 
For He has been very gracious to us all, 
And His Mercy endureth from Everlasting to Eternity. Amen. 



PAET THIKD OF CHAPTER Y. 

The Love of God in the Future State. 

§ 44. Having declared to you how you can know this Book, and those 
from the same author that have preceded it, to be truth, and Revelation 
from God, through Jesus Christ of Nazareth, let me call your attention to 
the greatness of the proof that you may thus receive. 

Tf I had given signs through this medium, you could only have seen 
him by a long journey, perhaps. You could, in general, have had no 
previous knowledge of his life. You must have been content with the 
one view and sign that you witnessed, in general. Many, even in the 
United States, could not have witnessed any of his works. But would 
works have induced you to believe ? Did I not do great works when in 
the body, and besides, have in all my appearance, and actions, and nature, 
a most convincing appeal to all to believe me ? And yet few believed. 



3? 

Crowds followed me ; multitudes assembled to hear me, and witness the 
wondrous signs with which I sought to convince them that I had authority 
to teach ; but firm conviction did not take place till I had left the outward 
view of men, and acted upon their internals. So I shall act hereafter, 
and have acted when men were willing to have me do so. Now, you 
will have a testimony in your own neighborhood, from one known to you, 
or your neighbor, on whose testimony you can rely : and delivered, perhaps, 
by one who certainly could not be leagued with this medium in any 
scheme to deceive you, or others, who will have no interest that you can 
by any device impute to him, for I declare not that the medium you ask 
shall be truthful in other respects, but rather the contrary ; and I shall 
also declare through that medium that this medium is truthful. Now. 
testimony like this ought to be satisfactory, yet I am aware that many 
will think there is a general conspiracy among spirits and mediums to 
establish the truth of this revelation. So there is a general concert, 
though not properly a conspiracy. 

$ 45. The other grand excuse for unbelief will be a hue and cry that 
it is a delusion of Satan. That in these last days there would be lying 
prophets, that should, if possible, deceive the very elect. But these very 
objectors can not tell you who are the elect, or whether they are of them, 
or not. I, on the contrary, have told you, as it were, all things ; and you 
ought, like the woman of Samaria, to confess it. She believed on far less 
evidence than you are asked to believe on, though the shock to her preju- 
dices was very great, for she belonged to a sect, and sectarianism has al- 
ways been opposed to new light. Let us, then, see for what I am denounced 
as Satan, or the Calumniator. Is it because I have called on men to do 
good works ? Is it because I have declared to them the goodness and 
mercy of an Infinitely Powerful God ? Is it because 1 have urged you to 
prepare in this life for the next ? Is it because you have refused to be- 
lieve me true, that I have dissembled, and pretended to be better than I 
was? How, then, shall Satan's kingdom stand, if he oppose himself? 
How shall I turn you more easily to evil, after having brought you to rely 
more upon God, and less on yourselves, than before ? How shall I see 
myself growing in your favor, by urging you to act from good motives, to 
avoid evil, to suffer patiently, and to rely always on the aid of the Deity ? 
Shall I find you more willing than before, to serve your own will, which 
is the Devil, or your malign nature, which is Satan ? Shall I be raised by 
you thus to an equality with God, in order that you may be my servants, 
and cast on Him the blame of leaving you to my wiles ? No, you know 
well that Evil would not thus seek to overcome Good. There are evils 
enough in the world, already existing, and by men plausibly defended, to 
ruin mankind, if God would permit evil spirits to help men in the body 
advocate them. There is evil enough already in the world to satisfy a 
material Devil, if one existed, and to give to him by far the greater part 
of mankind for his subjects, if such a thing could be. Heaven would be 
limited to a scant population, and Hell would be crowded, if popular The- 
ology were true. A Devil would be covetous and heartless indeed, that 
would not allow his Creator the few that churches in general claim to be 
saved by their efforts, and under their creel*. Be. then, no longer fearful, 



38 

but believing, when you hear the testimony to which I now refer you. 
But more blessed are they who not having heard shall believe. Unto 
them shall I award the prize of the glorious crown of faith. That crown 
for which Paul exhorted his pupils to strive, even with such exertions as 
the contenders at the Grecian games used. If you try slightly, compared 
with those great and almost superhuman efforts, you will succeed, and 
will find laid up for you a crown immortal, unfading, and not for you only, 
but to all those that love, honor, and serve God, and love the appearing 
of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be given one of the same erowns, 
that shall ever be their glory, honor, and praise, with men and angels. 

§ 46. Let every one, then, strive to believe. I have shown you, in the 
Second Book of The History of the Origin of All Things, that you can 
control your belief, and instructed you how to do it, by God's aid. Go 
to God for help ; he can help you, and you, as well as I, must believe 
he can do that. But some believe He will not help you, that He- will 
at last save you in your sins, but that He will not exert for you His 
Power, or His Love, till the day of judgment, or till you have at least 
passed from this mortal body. Vain man ! to think that you can serve 
yourself all this life, and in the next enjoy at once the happiness of 
serving God ? If it is such happiness to serve Him, why not do it now ? 
Ah ! you think that then you will have no bodily temptations. But you 
think you will still be yourself, and that you will retain the knowledge 
of the deeds done in the body, and that the impress of all your actions in 
this vale of selfish indulgence is not sufficient to eradicate good desires, 
and that you can, for all that, be pleased either with sitting down list- 
lessly, and lazily singing eternal praises to God, or that you can go on to 
all eternity, praising and glorifying Him, and serving Him exclusively, 
and call it happiness. And yet you do not want to do either, but you 
want to serve only your own desires, and consult always your own tem- 
poral good. Be assured, oh, man ! that there is no repentance in the 
grave. As the tree falls, so it lies. Atonement only can eradicate the 
evil that accompanies self-love. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE LAST SUBJECT OF THIS WORK, RECONCILIATION WITH GOD. 



PART FIRST. 

The Law of God Written on the Heart of Man, in the Body, and in the 

Spirit. 

§ 47. The last part of my subject is the most extensive branch of it, 
and I shall have to devote to it a large space, and still leave it imperfect- 
ly developed. It is the memory of the Past Life which returns to man in 
the Third Sphere, and continues to remain in him to the end of Eternity, 
if that were possible to have an End. But Eternity has no end. neither 



39 

has Memory. In the body men forget, but in the Spirit-World they not 
only retain, but recover what had been lost. But did you not tell us, 
spirits could leave behind them such memories as were disagreeable ? I 
did, in the Second Book of my First Series. But I did not mean that they 
would by this be unconscious of what had occurred, only that they would 
not recur to it with horror and loathing, that its evil might be sup- 
posed to induce. This is the first part of this branch of my subject, and I 
must endeavor to make you comprehend the nature and effect of this mem- 
ory, and the means by which its shame is removed. The first instance I 
will take shall be that of a murderer. 

The death of Csesar was an event which caused the memories of many 
to be thus clouded, and the event being a familiar one, and the actors re- 
moved long since, I will take that as the fact affecting the individuals 
who assisted in it, and bring them forward to declare their experience in 
the Spirit- World. 

§ 48. Csesar was ambitious, and he died by the hands of pretended 
lovers of liberty. Really, he died by the hate of a party, who desired not 
the progress of freedom, or the good of the people, but their own advance- 
ment to power, and their elevation to his position of ruling the whole 
world of Rome. His death, then, so far from being caused by his ambition, 
was caused by the ambition of the conspirators, many of whom were bound 
to him by ties of gratitude and his unmerited regard. They murdered 
him, as an obstacle to their design to secure the power, patronage, and 
wealth of the Roman Empire. They murdered him from the same motive 
that impels the highwayman or prompts the thief. They added to the 
crime of murder the sin of hypocrisy, and, supported by their adherents, 
proceeded to seize by force (which the friends of Caesar, and many sin- 
cere lovers of Rome, resisted), the Supreme power of the Roman State. 
They desired to rest its foundations rather upon the nobility, or Senatorial 
order. Csesar, and Antony, and Augustus, aimed more at the consent 
of the plebeians, even the poorer classes of them, and the allies of Rome, 
whom they admitted to share in the honors and fortunes of Roman citi- 
zens. The one opened the door for tyranny, by confining, or endeavoring 
to confine, the ruling class to a few. The other equally prepared the ne- 
cessity of tyranny, by spreading the repository of power so as to be un- 
wieldy, and creating the necessity of its delegation. According to the 
knowledge of those days, they could only intrust to one what the whole 
body found unmanageable. But when these conspirators had passed from 
the body to the spirit existence, think you they found any comfort to their 
recollection of the motives that really impelled them, by seeing, or know- 
ing, the motives and designs of Caesar ! Not any. For no well-instructed 
man can find in another's sins any excuse for his own; nor in another s 
hate, or evil disposition, any excuse for his departure from God, from jus- 
tice, or from love of his fellow-men. But we will leave this to the reflect- 
ive mind to pursue the argument, and profit by the hints that it affords, 
as to the rules that should govern a man's actions, and not merely his ac- 
tions, but his intentions; and not merely his intentions, but his motives; 
and not merely his motives, but his fountain of motives, his character, or 
resulting manifestation of the combination of all his desires. 



40 

PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE VI. 

The Laws of Recompense by Future Manifestations. 

§ 49. Let us now view the case of Alexander the Great, as historians 
have designated the Conqueror of Persia, and its only conqueror from the 
West. He led an army of Grecians, animated by a desire of plunder, 
rather than by patriotism, to the fields of his glory. He enriched them at 
the expense of the spoils of a conquered kingdom, which was, in fact, gov- 
erned by justice, though with unlimited prerogatives vested in the sovereign. 
He was rewarded by all that power, and wealth, and fame, can give to 
their possessor, and he died a drunkard's death. The intoxicated reveller 
who makes the streets of his native town the scene of his orgies, is hooted 
at by boys and derided by his companions. Was Alexander better than 
he ? Was it presumed to be any excuse that he had an army and a con- 
quered nation reverencing him as superior to other men ? Did his great- 
ness, or his honorable position, cause him any relief from the remorse that 
ought to follow for opportunities of usefulness wasted, for means of doing 
good neglected ? for every one of these came up before him for judgment. 
He himself passed judgment on himself, as I have stated that all spirits 
do, at the proper time in the Third Sphere, as you may find in the Third 
Book of The History of The Origin of All Things. Alexander was a 
splendid wreck of a noble nature. A man capable of the most exalted 
deeds, and able to have benefited mankind more than almost any king who 
has lived, died a drunkard's death ! leaving a distracted succession of 
events to destroy, in a great measure, the good his life had accomplished. 
For his life was beneficent to the world. It did advance the coming of the 
Millennium . It was prophesied of by Daniel . But for the good he did, who 
shall have praise when his actions are judged by himself? When he sees 
that all the good was incidental, and accidental, and the evil was wanton- 
ly, or carelessly, done. When he sees that his desire was not the good of 
others, or the glory of God, but the good and the glory of himself. Will 
he then say, I was Alexander the Great, the son of Amnion ? No, he must 
atone for such a course of self-gratification by serving God in the Spirit- 
World, by serving other men in the body, and in the spirit. Herein is 
wisdom. Let him that readeth understand, for the number of his name 
is six hundred and sixty-six. 

$ 50. What, then, is the meaning of this applied to Alexander? I did 
not suppose John the Divine applied that number to one who lived before, 
but that it referred to one who was to come after his prophecy ; and in 
common with other Protestants was inclined to suppose the Pope of Rome, 
or the Papal power, was intended to be designated by that number ? The 
number is mystical, but I can explain mysteries. The meaning has been 
guessed at, but I can declare it authoritatively. But shall I do so now ? 
Is the world prepared to believe me when I announce it ? Is it asking me, 
or my medium, to tell more, or is it finding fault that I have already told too 
much, that a large part of my revelations are unsupported by evidence ? 
that other spirits, or mediums, had not said any thing about this matter, 
or had told that somewhat differently, and that, therefore, I must give 



41 

proof, more proof ! • Go to other mediums, and ask other spirits now, in the 
sincere manner I have told you to, and you shall have proof enough to 
satisfy your reason, if you will exercise it, and your nature will be so im- 
proved by the reception of the truths that I have declared, that I can tell 
you more, with profit to you, and pleasure to me. 

§ 51. The number means that the letters of the name, taken in the 
original language, mean, or express, so much as that number. Thus, the 
number is 666, and the letters in the Greek express numbers, that added 
together make up also 666. And what has this to do with him? It 
shows his correspondence, or connection, with the Pope, or Roman Empire 
or Man; but not that he is the number of the man alluded to by John. 
He has a correspondence with the Roman Man, but is not he. There is 
another correspondence, but we will leave that for another occasion. 
Where correspondences exist, it is because the events, or facts, or men, 
are connected in the same special scheme. God's plan for the introduc- 
tion of this very period now commencing, the Fifth Monarchy, the reign 
of Jesus Christ on Earth, commenced thousands of years ago, and has 
been thus gradually unfolded by various agents. The men who have 
greatly forwarded the work, have been generally unconscious that they 
were acting for Him who rules all, but governs through instruments of 
His Will. 

§ 52. What shall we take for another instance of great misconstruction 
by History ? There has been of late years much progress in some minds, 
respecting the characters of prominent personages, and many have seen 
that rank among men, so far from excusing vice, but gave greater punish- 
ment for its existence. That instead of, " The king can do no wrong," 
being the law of God, it is the king who should set an example to his sub- 
jects, and do as he would have them do. He should seek the good of 
others, and sacrifice his ease, comfort, and pleasure, except as it is a com- 
fort and a pleasure to do the Will of God. God-fearing kings have existed, 
and will exist hereafter, for the form of government is not of so much 
consequence as that the government should be just, and founded in a de- 
sire to promote the happiness and general welfare of the population gov- 
erned. The republican form of government has its advantages Avhen ac- 
companied by a sufficient enlightenment of its citizens ; but power placed 
in the hands of ignorance must, of necessity, be illy exercised, if not 
abused. Education of the class, or individual, who is to rule with justice 
and propriety, is indispensable ; and that the rule should be approved by 
God. it is necessary also that the persons possessing the power of rule 
should be His servants. Do you, oh, people of the United States, bear in 
mind these self-evident truths ? Do not disregard them because they are 
trite, and do not wait the one for the other to begin. Give in your ad- 
hesion to God, and to me, each for himself, and without asking what this 
man does, or what that man shall do. 

" Act well your part ; there all the honor lies, 
And give to God each moment as it flies." 

§ 53. Let us be ever watchful to have no enemy of God acquire power, 
either in our hearts, or our civil polity ; let us be ever watchful that no 
man take from us, or persuade us to surrender, our crown. For as free 



42 

citizens of a republic, democratic in its character and tendency like this, 
every citizen is a sovereign, and entitled, as such, to be crowned with glory 
and honor. But he must receive his crown from God, and it will be the 
reward of acting in the spirit of the precept I delivered for kings, that they 
should act for the good of others, and sacrifice their own ease, comfort, and 
temporal pleasure for the good of those who compose the great whole of the 
nation, and not merely for the good of their own nation, but for the good of 
mankind, as a race who are all connected by ties of blood and common de- 
scent, and who are all to be hereafter so united as to be joined in one circle, 
where they will be joint heirs with Christ Jesus, Sons of God, united to Him 
by the most intimate relationship, and all having one will, and one thought, 
and one desire, which will be to give to God the Father, Almighty, the glory, 
honor, praise, thanksgiving, and high renown of all his Mercy, Kindness, 
and Love, by which he has ever benefited his children, and bestowed on the 
just and unjust unmerited favors. Then follow me, and Be ye perfect, 
even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. 

§ 54. Let every nation seek God, for He is ready to be found, and let 
every individual make the beginning himself, of subjecting his nation to 
God, by himself submitting himself to God. If five righteous men could 
have been found, the cities of the plain, now covered by the Dead Sea, 
would not have been overwhelmed. Do you, then, at least, save your na- 
tion, by submission to God yourself, and trust in Him that four others will 
make the same sacrifice to Him, by offering their wills a sacrifice to God, 
and placing themselves, by prayer and profession, under the rule of Jesus 
Christ, as God's Vice Regent, as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ; and 
as the king whose coming was foretold, and who should rule his people 
with a rod of iron. What does this expression mean ? It can not mean 
that he will rule them by fear, or stripes with an iron rod, or that his 
burdens will be so grievous as to be compared to being bound, or restrict- 
ed by such rigidity ? The rod of iron is a rod of power, that shall not be 
broken, that shall never decay. It shall be incorruptible by use, or inde- 
structible by war. But would not gold have been a better symbol? 
Gold, though a purer and higher metal, is rather the symbol of splendor, 
than of power. Iron is the symbol of power and of simplicity. Let us 
all, then, resolve to be God's servants and subjects ; and inasmuch as He 
has appointed me to rule all things in heaven and earth, do you become 
my subjects under His supervision. 

§ 55. Let every soul magnify the Lord, 
For He is mighty in Power, 
And greatly to be feared in wrath ; 
Let every soul be reconciled to Him in the day of Mercy; 
Let each of the inhabitants of the earth know the Lord. 

Oh, God ! who art Most Mighty, 

Oh ! Thou who art Most Loving, 

Be Thou to us Most Merciful, 
For out of wrath cometh Love when thou smilest ; 
And out of Love cometh Mercy when we turn to Thee. 

Oh ! Most Merciful, Kind, and Loving ! 
Oh, Thou ! who hast no wrath, but Pity ! 



43 

Oh, Thou ! whose Pity leads us all to Thee, 
And calls us all in Thy Holy Name ; be Merciful, 
Very Merciful, oh, Lord God Almighty, Father and Friend. 

Oh ! Thou mighty king of Saints ; 
"Who rulest now, as Thou hast ever done, 
"Who savest now, as Thou hast always been willing to save. 
Have mercy upon us, who now seek Thy Loving Mercy, 
And pity us who can not call upon Thee, because of our wrath. 

Our hearts would turn to Thee, 

And our souls desire to seek Thee, 

Oh, Most Holy, and Merciful God ! 
But temptations assail us, and ignorance betrays us, 
So that we can not love Thee as we would, or seek Thee as we should. 

But oh, Most Loving Father ! 

And Most powerful, constant Friend ; 

Help us, and lead us, and force all evil from us ; 
For we desire to know Thee, and to love Thee, and worship Thee, 
As we ought to know Thee, and love Thee, and worship Thee, 

The ever Living, and ever Loving God, 

"Whose Mercy endureth forever and ever, 
And whose Kindness and Pity has no end. 

§ 56. Let all who love God, and who lore Me, the Son of God, sing His 
praise. I am with God, and God is with me. But God only is God, and 
I am His Son. Worship God. Love me. I love you, and God loves me. 
But God loves you most, because He is Infinite, and I am finite. Love 
God, then, and seek Wisdom. He that seeketh, shall find, and to Him that 
knocketh, shall he opened the gates of Everlasting Mercy. 



PAKT THIPvD OF CHAPTER VI. 

The Last State of Mankind, and the Future Hoped for. 

§ 57. Let us now view the course of events since the commencement of 
Christianity. While the purity of my gospel was preached, it made rapid 
progress. Churches, or associations of believers in me, as the Messiah, 
were formed in almost every Grecian city, and Grecian cities then were 
existing in all the countries subdued by Alexander the Great. Numerous 
as were these cities in that age, none were left without evidence and a 
call to believe. Even beyond the boundaries of Alexander's conquests, to 
the farthest extremity of the Roman dominion, my servants obeyed my 
command to preach the gospel of Jesus, as the Messiah, as he who was to 
come ; who had long been prophesied of, and had come, and done many 
wonderful works, and been visible to many thousands and tens of thou- 
sands of people. That I had by wicked men, swayed by a desire to keep 
up old institutions, been crucified ; but that I had triumphed over them, 
and over all opposition, by reappearing from the grave with a celestial 
body, and confirming and establishing before many witnesses, the great 
truth, that after the life in the body, there was a resurrection and an as- 



44 

cension. That I had promised to all who should believe my preachers, 
and believe me to be the Messiah, Eternal Life; and not only Eternal 
Life, but union and residence with myself, who was with God, the Father 
of All, and the Dispenser of every blessing to mankind, and not only that 
they should be with me, but that they should be joint heirs with me to the 
kingdom of Heaven. Joint heirs with me to all the glorious gifts of the 
Great Giver of All Good, the High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe. 
That as such joint heirs, they should be one with me, even as I was one 
with God, and that being one with me, they were one with God in His 
Power, Glory, Honor, and Love. That being one with me, they were the 
children, or Sons of God, even as I was the Son of God. For God is one, 
and he who would be one with me, must seek Him through me, the only 
name given whereby men could be saved. That is, there was no other 
teacher that had taught such doctrine, or any doctrine that gave to men 
this glorious hope, and true knowledge of their relationship to God ; and 
inasmuch as they could not find out God by their own reason, or know 
Him by a lost tradition, so they could only now (or then) know Him by my 
revelation, and, therefore, could only come to God through me, who came 
to be, and was, and continues still to be, the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; 
and the only name given among men, whereby they can be saved with 
an eternal salvation in this life, the only way and guide by which they 
could get into Heaven in this life, and all who should strive to get into 
the bliss of being Sons of God in any other way than through me, and the 
way I had declared to be the only true way, were like thieves and rob- 
bers, entering when they were not invited, or authorized to, and taking, or 
endeavoring to take, that which was not offered them, and for which they 
refused to pay the price I had fixed, as the only one acceptable by God 
from sinners, and that price is, as I have again and again declared, the 
heart. No other sacrifice is acceptable, no other price is sufficient to pur- 
chase Reconciliation with God, and all who do not now choose to pay this 
price must still be excluded from that union and communion which you 
can only have through me, or the Sent Spirit of God, and which is the 
foretaste and pre-realization of the joy of Heaven, and the bliss of God's 
kingdom, to which He invites you to enjoyment and subjection. No other 
way can it be reached than by paying the price of admission. It is only 
your heart He asks for, it is only that you sacrifice your own will, and 
undertake to do that of your Heavenly Father. If you will not now, or 
in this life, resolve to make this sacrifice, and continue to make it daily 
and hourly, you will have to make it in the Spirit- World. But you will 
not be in Heaven till it is made ; for being in the Spirit- World does not of 
necessity place a man in Heaven. There is a long course of instruction 
and education of the passions to be encountered by all rebellious sons, or 
such as have tried to break in, in some other way than by this one price 
which I declare to be required from all ; and though the Mercy of God is 
yet sufficient in its Infinity to save you from your iniquities, and from 
your sins, yet He will not force you to make the sacrifice in any way, but 
by persuading you to Cease to do evil, and learn to do well ; and to Learn 
of me, who am meek and lowly, and, when in the body, had not house, 
or property, to live in, or upon, but trusted to God, who was, and is, and 



45 

will be, able to save and support all those who put their trust in Him, 
and give Him the glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving, for all His won- 
derful works, and for all His loving kindnesses, and for all His Everlasting 
Mercy. Amen. 



CHAPTEIt VII. 

THE CALL TO ALL MEN TO BE CHRISTIANS. 



PAET FIEST. 

Let Every Man Look at his Foundation. 

$ 58. Let us view the Past, and see if men have profited by the teach- 
ings and precepts I delivered when in the body, or preached through my 
inspired servants, in the days when the foundations were laid of the 
churches which now claim to be mine. 

"VYhen the time was, that the morning stars sang together and all the 
Sons of God shouted for Joy, I declared ; and that it was when the Earth 
appeared as a fit habitation for Mankind. The Sons of God were those 
who had passed through bodies in other planets, and had thus previously 
been raised to a knowledge of God in a bodily existence. For, as I have 
stated, the spiritual body does not clothe the soul till it has entered into 
the natural, or earthy body. But when the time came for the foundation 
of the church of Christ to be laid, again the sons of God shouted for joy, 
and those whose glory was like that of morning stars, also joined the 
great shout that declared the joy of Heaven and the bliss prepared for 
all men. The shepherds who watched their flocks, heard the sound, and 
immediately sought for the child thus born with testimony that he should 
be a Savior. Think you they were not disappointed, when they found 
this Prince of Peace, this King of Glory, in a stable, in the suburbs of 
Bethlehem, wrapped in coarse and unsuitable bandages, and in the arms 
of a poor woman? Certainly they were disappointed. The miraculous 
call they had received, the eloquent music they had heard, and the glori- 
ous annunciation of Glad Tidings, of Great Joy, were all together insuf- 
ficient to persuade them that out of such lowliness would come forth a 
Messiah. Accordingly, we do not find that one of these shepherds, or a 
child of them, is afterward mentioned as being in expectation of the Mes- 
siah from that cause, or as believing in the preaching of Jesus, when he 
had entered upon the fulfillment of his Mission. So it was then, so it is 
now. 

§ 59. The people of the present day, aroused by the manifestations of 
spirits, by mysterious sounds, and strange communications, so far from 
believing in the doctrines shadowed forth by them, deride the miraculous 
nature of them, and call them delusions, or works of evil spirits. As if 
evil spirits could have so much power to lead men astray, and to annoy 



46 

those who would not be led astray, and yet have not before, nor at present, 
exercised it for such purpose ! As if they would preach salvation to all, 
irrespective of belief, if they desired to corrupt men, and bring all, or a 
large part of mankind, into subjection to evil ! As if they would urge 
men to believe in God, and in the constant care of spirits in unison with 
him, if they desired to have men believe that they were to be worshiped 
instead of God. and that Heaven and Hell were delusions, and life beyond 
the grave non-existent ! Reason and revelation both assure you, that 
evil does not so present itself. Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus 
Christ has come in the flesh, is not of God. This is the rule the beloved 
apostle of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ, gave, not for a time, but for 
all time, and if any man preach any other gospel than this, let him be ac- 
cursed. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE VII. 

Let Every Man he Fully Convinced. 

§ 60. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, was the ad 
vice, or direction, of Paul. What, then, is required of men, but investiga- 
tion, calm and unbiased, and judgment founded on their investigation? 
Nothing can be imputed to a man who has done this, but ignorance. He 
sins not ; but he may experience destruction of happiness, and loss of that 
which he has not, and has, perhaps, never had, but might have, if he 
would accept it ; and that is, Reconciliation with God, union with Him in 
Love, and union with Him in Power, to do His Will. What, then, shall 
we say of the man who investigates, and concludes that all this is a delu- 
sion; or else uncertain vaticinations of beings little above men, and no 
more reliable , though assuming to speak with Power of God ? We shall 
say, they are poor blind followers of blind leaders, and that, with their 
leaders, they shall be led to see the absurdity of their positions, ere long, 
and that they will, at last, bless those who have now sacrificed their feelings 
and their social comforts to the cause of Truth and progress, and in coming 
out from the same beaten track that multitudes walk in. For the way is 
broad that takes the general travel, but straight and narrow is the path 
that leads to God, and to a knowledge internally, or spiritually, of His 
Revealed Will. Shall men be allowed to go so astray, when they seek to 
find the Truth ? They shall not, for it is not the real seekers who are 
thus left to follow blind leaders. It is only those who, unwilling to fol- 
low wherever God may lead, desire to have some certain landmarks kept 
ever in view, though those are only the marks of men. The true sailor 
desires only to know where he starts from, and whither he would arrive ; 
and trusts to God's winds, and his compass pointing always in one direc- 
tion. So, the true seeker is willing to be blown about by God's trials of 
his faith, and to preserve, as his compass direction, the guiding star of 
Truth. He starts with the knowledge that he is disobedient and sinful, 
and he seeks to arrive at the haven of Peace, 

" Which nothing earthly can destroy ; 
The soul's calm sunshine ; Virtue's joy." 



47 

Guided by these, he does not ask to keep his church's creed, or his min- 
ister's construction of the Bible, ever in view. He is willing to take a 
bold departure from all he has known, and view the boundless expanse 
of heaven above, and the heaving ocean of Time below, till the favoring 
breath of God's Love shall bring him safely to his desired haven. Shall 
this seeker be disappointed, shipwrecked on unknown rocks, sunken reefs, 
or inhospitable coasts ? Not so ; he has that compass that does not de- 
ceive, he seeks that port toward which the winds of Heaven always blow, 
and resistless is the force of the impulse which he thus receives, and joy- 
ful is the welcome that awaits him on that distant strand. 

$ 61. The last notice I shall take of the unbeliever's arguments in this 
book, is of one which has first presented itself to my medium to-day, 
(July 3d). He has wondered, and desired to know, though he was too 
submissive to ask to be informed, why the spirits of lower spheres, who 
sometimes write upon paper, or parchment, with ordinary materials, and 
in their accustomed hand, as used in the body, are not better mediums 
than he for my communications, seeing that they are at least possessed 
of more knowledge, and probably farther advanced in submission to higher 
spiritual influence, than any men in the body ? And then, one step more 
he would go, and inquire (if he made any inquiry, which I am pleased to 
be able to say he does not), why it is that I, possessing, as I have stated, 
all the powers of the circles lower than my own, and therefore in their 
power, if not in my own. capable of writing with outward materials, in 
an outward book like this manuscript ; I say he would be glad to know 
why I do not write myself, instead of delivering the words through his 
soul, to be written down by his will, and subject to disturbances and 
suspicions, sometimes of himself and ofttimes of others, that he has di- 
verted the pure stream of revelation, or troubled, at least, its equable 
flow ! But the answer to these questions will involve a long consideration 
of the condition and means of action of spirits, and I shall leave for the 
next Book, soon to be commenced, and intended to be published with this, 
a full explanation of this very reasonable inquiry. All reasonable doubts 
shall be answered, all reasonable hesitation is allowable. But a man 
should let his reason tell him when he is convinced, and when the evi- 
dence for the new preponderates, and not allow the power of his will to 
overcome the impulses of justice and the power of truth, to guide his 
reason to the harbor of Peace 

LET US PRAY. 

§ 62. Almighty God, who dost from Thy Throne behold all men, and 
their inmost thoughts, may it please Thee to look with mercy upon this 
humble servant, or would-be servant, of Thy Will. Let me be taught by 
Thee to know right from wrong, to follow Thy teachings, and be pre- 
served from error. Oh, God ! Thou knowest that I have no desire to ap- 
pear before men as Thy servant, or as a medium of Thy revelation; but, 
oh, God ! help me to be willing to follow wherever Thou wouldst have 
me follow the guidance of Thy Holy Spirit ; and suffer me, Oh, God ! not 
to be led astray by any desire of my own, or to be influenced by any un- 
worthy motive; and strengthen me to bear all that the opposition of man- 
kind may inflict, and to know that I am obeying Thee ; for Oh, God ! I 



48 

desire not to go too fast, or to be holding back from Thy work, but to be 
submissive in Thy hands to Thy Holy Will, and passive in the hands of 
whatsoever spirit it may please Thee to have control me. For thou, oh, 
God ! canst always save me from evil, and deliver me from the enemy of 
Thy Truth ; Thou canst help me with Thy Power, and establish the 
knowledge of Thy Truth to shine like a city on a hill. Be Thou, oh, 
God ! kind and affectionate toward me, as I know that Thou art, and 
must be, to all Thy children; and let no man overthrow Thy work, but 
may it please Thee to establish it as it may seem good to Thee, and in 
Thy own time ; so that whatever I do may be of use to my fellow-men, 
and advance the coming of Thy Great Day, which Thy prophets have led 
men to expect, and which Thy mediums generally have declared near at 
hand ; for to Thee shall ever be praise, honor, glory, and thanksgiving, 
now and forever, world without end. 

§ 63. Almighty God, who dost from Thy Throne behold all the dwellers 
upon Earth, and all the thoughts of the inhabitants thereof, be so merciful 
as to pardon this medium all his short-comings, and all his errors of judg- 
ment in punctuation of the books I have directed him to publish, for he 
was actuated by a sincere desire to know and do my will, but I withheld 
from him all outward proof of his connection with me, in order that he 
might be spiritually advanced and drawn away more and more from the 
outward manifestation, to the inward one ; so that he might give the more 
glory to Thee, the One True and Living God, and be one of those blessed 
ones who have believed without having seen, and receive his reward ac- 
cordingly ; and this, oh. God, and Father ! I ask of Thee, though I know 
that Thou hast known and granted my prayer before ; but I ask it because 
of these readers, who have not faith in me, and in Thee ; in me, the Son 
of Thy Love; and in Thee, the Father of All. Grant then, oh, God! 
what Thou hast granted for my sake before, now, for them ; and to Thee 
shall they give praise with me, for all Thy Love, Kindness, and long-suf- 
fering Mercy ; which, nevertheless, is so Untiring that it endures forever, 
and to the End of that Eternity which hath no Ending. 

LET US PRAT. 

§ 64. Oh, God ! who art ever present, and ever acting, yet always at 
rest in Thy Heavens, and upon Thy Earths, look down upon this world 
of sin and of sorrow, where indifference prevails, and narrow-minded jeal- 
ousy of innovation threatens to tire out the patience of the believers in 
Thee, look down, oh, God ! on all who have any desire to know Thee, 
and impress them with a knowledge of the truth of this book, and all that 
I have given before through this medium, because, oh, God ! I revealed it 
by Thy Will, and found so few willing to receive it. Let me, oh, God ! 
fulfill the promises I have made, through this revelation, of miracles to* es- 
tablish, and mediums to confirm it, because I made the promises in Thy 
Will, and I know, oh, God ! that Thou wilt establish and fulfill ; yet, oh, 
God ! I ask it for the sake of the readers of this and other books, thus de- 
livered, so that they may glorify Thee when the promises are fulfilled, and 
the Truths established out of the mouths of many witnesses, as was foi 



49 

merly declared on a similar occasion ; and to Thee shall be praise, honor, 
and glory, now and for evermore. Amen. 

$ 65. Almighty God, rule ns in justice, and in Thy Mercy cut not off 
mankind in their sins. For they shall repent, and give to Thee glory, hon- 
or, and praise, when my kingdom shall be established in its Power, and 
men acknowledge me to be King of Kings. Let all Thy Holy Angels. 
and all Spirits of Departed from the Earth, Saints, and all the lower 
spirits, who seek by good works to atone for the evil of their life of Expe- 
rience, or probation upon the Earth, help to establish Thy glory, honor, 
and praise, by testifying that this Book, and those w T hich have already 
been given, are what they purport to be ; and grant that they who read 
may understand, and that all shall stand in their places in the Last Day ; 
and to Thee shall be glory, honor, thanksgiving, and praise, now and for- 
ever. Amen. 

§ 66. Almighty God ! bless us Thy unworthy servants, 
And let us all seek to know Thy Holy Will. 

For every son of Thy Love is the judgment prepared, 

And for every son that Thou hast, dost Thou give forth Love. 

Let every creature, and every procedure, give thanks, 

And let every soul be Eeconciled to Thy Holy Dispensations. 



Lo ! every one that thirsteth, shall be refreshed ; 
And to every one that hungers, shall be meat ; 
For God's riches are not limited, but Infinite, 
And all that love God shall have a full return ; 
For His Mercy endureth forever, yea, for evermore. 

Lo ! here we are, oh, God ! offering to praise thee with our lips 
Let us, also, oh, God ! join in with our hearts ; 
And let us never cease to praise Thee here, or hereafter; 
For out of Thee proceeded always Good, and Loving Mercy ; 
And unto Thee shall be honor, and praise, Evermore. 

Let all that is within man testify of Thee, 

And let us all know Thee, the only True Guide ; 

And let not any go astray, who desire to reach Thee, 

But save us all with an everlasting salvation ; 

For Thy Mercy is unbounded, and endureth forever. 



Let every creature here, and in the Holy Heavens, know Thee, 
Let every life, and every soul magnify Thy Holy Name with glory ; 
Yea, let all that is within, and all the outward praise Thee evermore ; 
For Thy Mercy, and Thy Love, and bountiful favor, 
Are ever present, and will bless All men forevermore. 



50 

PART THIRD OF CHAPTER VII. 

Let Every Man make a Sacrifice to God. 

$ 68. Wherewith shall man come before the Lord God? Shall he offer 
outward praise, or outward sacrifice ? By no means. The earthy is the 
Lord's already. But one thing God hath bestowed upon man, so that 
man has a possession to offer to God, a sacrifice he can make, and an ac- 
ceptable one to God. For God gave it to Man, that he might make then 
a sacrifice, and an offering acceptable. There is nothing else that is 
man's; all else is God's already. And, although this came from God, 
and He has the power to resume it, and take it from man, yet He has in 
His Wisdom ordained that He would not, and that man should not be 
compelled, but only persuaded, to make the sacrifice of his Heart, that is, 
of his Free- Will. The crowning gift of God to man was Free- Will. This 
I have shown you in my enumeration of God's Fifty Gifts to man, consti- 
tuting man a being, in the image of God. Reader, can you sacrifice this 
possession to God ? If so, my teaching has not been in vain. If so, I 
have not labored for you faithlessly. For out of the past, and out of the 
present, and presently out of the future, will come one united voice, one 
trumpet song : 

Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God, Almighty ; 

Just and true are all thy ways, Thou King of Saints. 

Oh, Reader ! be prepared to join in this song with fervor. But so long 
as you do not sacrifice your Free-Will. you can not sing this song as it 
should be sung, and as it is sung in Heaven. The angels of God that 
stand nearest to God sing it ; and the angels of the Fourth Sphere sing it 
understandingly. Even spirits of the Third Sphere can sing it musically, 
and enjoy it ; but angels, or spirits, in the lower Circles of the Second 
Sphere are unused to it, and do not enjoy it. Self- Will must be sacri- 
ficed, and he who has sacrificed it, and daily and constantly does do it, 
shall be passed quickly through the Second Sphere, and introduced to 
that great Third Sphere, where he comes to know all that has been with 
him, and, at last, with all others that have gone before him. 

§ 69. You may say you do not know how to sacrifice your Free-Will ? 
I will aid you to find out, though I can not give a general rule that will 
answer for all cases in words : neither do I desire to tell you in that pos- 
itive manner, but rather that you should work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling ; but not with fear that you will not be eventual- 
ly saved, but with fear that you have not done enough for speedy salva- 
tion. 

Make your reason subservient to your Free-Will, by bringing it into 
Divine Harmony with a desire to know the Truth without regard to its 
effect upon your former associates, or the opinions you may have long 
cherished, or even preached. Fear God's displeasure, if you do not this. 
But can God be displeased, or is He equable ? God pities, as His dis- 
pleasure. God raises and comforts when He pities, and so He will raise 
and comfort you if you will be obedient to this plan. He will be the 
Captain of your salvation, if you will elect to follow Him in His dispen- 
sations, which may greatly try you ; but be steadfast, immovable, un- 



51 

shakable ; let every thing pass by heedlessly but God's calls upon you to 
be industrious, faithful, ever watchful, constantly calling upon Him to 
keep you in the right path if you are there, or to bring you into it if he 
has not done it. or you have not reached there seemingly by chance, or 
industriously seeking God in some other way. Keep a single eye to the 
end for which you are placed in this state of existence, here in the body. 
It is that you may experience Good and Evil j that you may be purified 
by trials from the Evil, and brought back to Good by Love for God mani- 
fested in your love for your fellow-men ; that you may know the bliss, by 
its contrast with misery, to be great ; that you may enjoy the Spirit- World 
by having this to compare it with, and that you may give to God thanks 
continually, both nqw and. forever, for every dispensation, whether it ap- 
pear now Good or Evil, justly believing that all God's gifts are for the 
good of the recipient, and that He gives them whether He gives them as 
consequents of yours, or others' acts, or whether they are rewards of 
faithful servants and glorious sons. Such is the object of your sojourn 
in the body : and though you may accomplish the design without sacri- 
ficing your Free-Will, and enjoying here God's Peace, the Influence of 
Heavenly Bliss, yet you may be left for a long and comparatively wasted 
time in the lower Circles of the Second Sphere, through which your 
progress may be so slow that all but Heavenly patience will be exhaust- 
ed, in your obstinate resistance to the persuasions of those better knowing; 
higher-experienced, more fully progressed spirits, that continually urge 
you to be Reconciled to God, by offering to Him the only sacrifice man 
here in the body, or hereafter in the Spirit-World, can offer to God, as 
truly a sacrifice of his own passion, and that is your Free- Will. That 
must be surrendered before you can act in, or exist in any way, in God's 
Will, and little by little, or all at once, as it were, and continually, and 
forever afterward, it must be freely surrendered ere it will be accepted. 
Give, then, to God what He asks for, and what He will eventually per- 
suade you to give, the only thing you in fact really can call yours, your 
FREE-WILL^ Amen. 

§ 70, Let all the people praise the Lord, 
Tea, let all the people praise Him, 
For His Wonderful works, and for His glorious Kevelations. 

Tea, let all the people praise Him, 
Tor His great Mercies, and Loving Kindnesses, 
Tea, let all the people praise Him, for His great and abundant Mercy. 

July, 3d, 1852. 



52 

INDEX. 

FIRST BOOK OF SECOND SERIES. 

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 





Tage 


Title Page of First Book ...... 


. 5 


Introduction to First Book 


7 


Preface to First Book „i 


. 8 


Chap. I. — Description of Paradise .... 


9 


Chap. II. — Local View of Paradise 


. 14 


Chap. If I. — Local View of the Spirit- World 


. 20 


Chap. IV. — Formation of Matter .... 


. 25 


Chap. V. — Love of God for Mankind .... 


. 33 


Chap. VI. — Reconciliation with God 


.38 


Chap. VII. — Call to All Men to be Christians 


. 45 


Index 


. 52 



TABLE OF CONTENTS.— FIRST BOOK. 



CHAPTER I. 

Part First. The Time of the Establishment of Paradise, 9. — $ 1- 
The grandeur of this Revelation, 9. § 2. The plan. 10. 

Part Second. Circumstances of Paradise. 10. — § 3. Hymn of Praise 
to God, 10. $ 4. State of man in Paradise, 10. §5. Position of Para- 
dise, 11. 

Part Third. Circumstances of Existence in Paradise, 12. — § 6. Light 
of Paradise, 12. §7. Light and Heat of the Sun, 12. $ 8. Nature of 
Aura, and of God, 12, $9. Reasons for believing this Book. 13. 
$ 10. Action of Caloric. 14. 

CHAPTER II. 

Part First.— $ 11. Place and Time of Establishing Paradise. 14. 
Part Second. — The End for which Paradise was Created, 15. 
Section First. — § 12. Entrance of Man into Paradise. 15. 
Section Second. Condition of Men in Paradise. 16. — $ 13. Pairital 
Existence in Paradise. 16. $ 14. Reasons for leaving Paradise, 17. 
§ 15. The Author's Prayer, 17. § 16. Hymn of Praise for Mercy, 18. 
Part Third. — $ 17. Man's Escape from Paradise. IS. 



53 

CHAPTER III. 

Part First. The End of Man's Sojourn on Earth always Secured, 
20. — $ 18- Objection to my theory, or truth, 20. § 19. Desirability of 
Marriage, 20. $ 20. Provisions of the Spirit- World for the Unmar- 
ried, 20. §21. Provisions for Infants, 21. 

Part Second. Compensations of different Ranks of Society, 22. — 
§ 22. Differences of Social Condition, 22. § 23. Dives and Lazarus, 22. 
§ 24. A new song explained, 23. § 25. Hymn of Love and Praise, 23. 

Part Third. — $ 26. The Head of the Corner, or Knowledge of 
Truth and God, 23. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Part First. The Formation of Earthy Matter, 25. — § 27. Matter was 
formed by the Word, 25. § 28. God created All Things, 25. § 29. 
Matter made from nothing, 26. 

Part Second. The Formation of Spirit-World, 27. — § 30. The Spirit- 
World a state of progress, 27. § 31. Immateriality of the Soul, 27. 
§ 32. Its final disembodiment, 27. $ 33. Materiality of the Spiritual 
body, 27. § 34. Its dissolution, or death, 28. § 35. How it is reveal- 
ed in the Spirit- World, 28. § 36. Hymn of Praise and Thanksgiving, 28. 

Part Third. The Completion of Matter, 29. — § 37. Matter is not 
God, 29. § 38. Two kinds of Matter created, 30. $ 39. Process of 
Formation, 30. § 40. Distinguishing feature of Earthy Matter, and 

different modes of operating upon it by spirits, or Divine emanations, 3 1 . 

» 

CHAPTER V. 

Part First. — $ 41. Future Manifestations of God's Love, 33. 

Part Second. Explanations of Contradictions, or Objections, An- 
swered, 34. — § 42. The explanation of the present Spiritual Manifesta- 
tions, and their contradictions, 34. $ 43. Hymn of Praise for Revela- 
tion, 35. 

Part Third. More Objections Answered, 36. — § 44. Greatness of Proof 
now offered Men of the truth of this Revelation, 36. $ 45. Proof that 
it is not Satanic, 37. § 46. How men should receive Revelation, 38. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Part First. Action in the World to Come, 38. — § 47. Memory in the 
Spirit- World, 38. § 48. Case of Murder, 39. 

Part Second. Duties of Men Explained and Enforced, 40. — $ 49. Case 
of Drunkenness, 40. § 50. The number of the Name, 40. $ 51. Far 
reaching of God's Action on Mankind, 41. $ 52. Duties of Kings and 
Citizens, 41. $ 53. Brotherhood of Mankind, 41. § 54. The rule of 
the King of Kings, 42. § 55. Hymn of Prayer, 42. § 56. Duties of the 
Lovers of God, 43. 

Part Third. — § 57. 



54 

CHAPTER VII. 

Part First. Unwillingness of Men to Believe, 45. — § 58. Glad 
Tidings of Great Joy, 45. $ 59. Test for knowing Good Spirits, 45. 

Part Second. Difficulties to be Overcome by Inquirers. 46. — § 60. 
Who shall know the Truth, 46. § 61 . A reasonable inquiry to be answer- 
ed in the next Book, 47. § 62. A prayer my medium made long since, 
now written by me, 47. § 63. My prayer for the Medium, 48. § 64. 
My prayer for the Readers of this Book, 48. § 65. My prayer for Medi- 
ums and Mankind in general, 49. §66. My prayer for every Man, 
Spirit, or Soul, in existence, 49. § 67. A Hymn of Prayer, 49. 

Part Third. How all Difficulties can be Overcome by Inquirers, 
50. — $ 68. The one thing needful, 50. § 69. How to make an ac- 
ceptable sacrifice to God, 50. § 70. Concluding Hymn of Praise, 51. 



THE 



HISTOKY OF THE 



ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



CONTESTTED FEOM 



THE PREVIOUS SERIES AND BOOKS ALREADY PUBLISHED. 



BEING PAETICTTLAELY 



51 iistnnj nf ijjt IRdatinns nf Matter tn t% 



<$)f tMts k Ipirifa nuit tn €A 

IN TWO PAETS. 

PART FIRST I THE RELATIONS OF MAN TO THE SPIRIT-WORLD. 
PART SECOND : THE RELATIONS OF MAN TO GOD's MANIFESTATIONS. 

WBITTEN BY 

THE LOED JESUS CHKIST, 

FOEMEELY JESUS OF NAZAEETH ; 

THEN A MAN, NOW A SON OF GOD. 

DELIVERED BY HIM IN HIS OWN WORDS, AND SPEAKING IN THE FIRST PERSON, 
THEOUGH THE MEDIUM, 

L. M. ARNOLD, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y. 

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND SEEIES. 



IN THE YEAR OF GRACE. CALLED BY MEN, 

1852. 



INTRODUCTION. 



History of the Origin of All Things, I did not make known the particular 
subject to my medium, and even yet he knows not how its particular, or 
distinguishing, title will be called. I have, however, given a hint in the 
Introduction to the Second Series heretofore given. But as the subject 
has assumed a more general range than was there specified, T shall not bo 
considered as having fulfilled the expectation so formed by that announce- 
ment. I have in this Book undertaken to show not merely the physical 
relations of bodies to souls and Spirits, but the relations of matter to life. 
In the next Book, the Third of this Series, I shall show the course of 
Spirit existence more fully than I have yet given it. The last part of 
that Book will be a full refutation of many slanders upon God's govern- 
ment and plan of redemption, which have been produced by the reason 
and will of man operating on the impressibility of spirits in lower Circles. 



PREFACE 

TO THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND SERIES. 



This Book is intended to help men much and rapidly in the way of Sal- 
vation. But no man is saved without his own effort. Be, then, desirous 
to be saved by the help of this Book, and in the way it points out, because 
that way is God's way, and God's way is the only one that man can be 
saved by. Read with a desire to profit by reading. Read with earnest 
reliance on God's help, for He will not refuse His servants their petitions, 
or His sons their wants. Ask, then, for what will be eternally profitable, 
rather than for the evanescent things that are visible, or palpable. Be 
always desirous to know the Truth and serve God. Be never doubtful of 
God's care, and ability, and Will, to help you. If any thing is clearly 
set forth in the precepts of Jesus, it is, that God regards with interest the 
actions and desires of Man. 



FIRST GRAND DIVISION. 



CHAPTER I. 

OF LIFE IN GENERAL. 



PART FIRST. 

The Creation of Bodies for the Reception of Life. 

§ 1, When the "World of Matter was made, the Word placed it where 
it was directed to he placed by the Will of God. But the place was not 
one place \ but all was as one, because it was in unison, or harmony, 
wherever it was. But wherever it was it was without form, and void. 
That is, void of form and of life, or action. It was passive, and gaseous 
in a most attenuated degree. By the Word was imparted to it another 
quality, that of action by condensation. The cause, or process, was the 
addition of a law respecting it, by which it was impelled to act upon 
itself, so as to combine in various ways its various elements, or original 
or ultimate particles of different essences. There are not many of these 
ultimate essences, but their combinations with others, being first united 
in pairs of various proportions, are numerous. These pairs of first union 
are held in connection by so strong an affinity, that science will never be 
able to separate them. Nothing less than Wisdom of God can do it. 
This, High Spirits have, but do not exercise except in His Will. The first 
principles, or ultimate essences, of matter are four, of which three belong 
to earthy matter, while Spirit matter has, as I have already stated, an- 
other, called Od. 

§2. Od is the distinguishing feature of Spirit matter. It is intangible to 
men, except by its effects. Sensitive persons can feel its effects, and witness 
also some of them, but in general, mankind are unable to perceive its primary 
effect, and can only ascertain, or know its existence, from the evidence of 
others, or from the secondary effects, which are manifested from its primary 
actions upon Earthy matter. Magnetism is a quality, or essence of Earthy 
matter, which does not exist in pure Spirit matter. Spirits are not influenced 
at all by magnetism. They know what it is, because they can perceive it 
by the powers they possess, and can witness all the phenomena which it 
produces by its various combinations. Caloric is another ultimate es- 
sence, or base. It belongs exclusively to Earthy matter, and does not 
affect spirits. If it affected spirits, they would feel its loss, as men do, by 



60 

quantity, by the feeling of warmth, or heat. Heat is not caloric any 
more than cold is ; it is only an effect of caloric ; so is cold an effect of 
caloric, because it is such a condition of surrounding matter, or substance 
felt of, as abstracts caloric from the human system. Caloric pervades all 
bodies as fully as Magnetism, or Od. But it also exists uncombined, as 
also exist Magnetism and Od. Od, indeed, does not combine with Mag- 
netism, or Caloric, or with the third unknown and unnamed substance of 
•*earthy matter. Od pervades all earthy matter, but does not combine 
with any of it. The third substance I will name BODY of Man, or, as 
sufficiently explicit, Body. By this, I do not mean flesh and blood, or 
the form of earthy matter that conceals, or confines the spirit, or the soul, 
of man. But I mean that fourth ultimate essence which is the founda- 
tion, as it were, the great base of all the solids, or visibilities of earthy 
matter, and which, though never seen uncombined, as Magnetism or Ca- 
loric are, is yet so combined with these other two substances, that it may 
be ultimately appreciated by men as a substance. It is not capable of 
separation even into its original first, or ultimate combinations, which 
are, as far as the powers of men are as yet awakened, unappreciable. 
These first, or ultimate, combinations are many, and all were originally 
gaseous. The whole of this substance, or essence, was at once combined 
thus inseparably with Magnetism and Caloric in various proportions, yet 
definite and by order, not by chance. The affinity for these other essences 
is so great, that the combinations are irresolvable by any power less than 
that which caused the affinity and combination. 

§ 3. Having now given you a brief outline of the manner in which 
earthy matter is formed, I will in the same brief maimer state that Spirit 
matter contains three substances, or essences, of which Od is the sub- 
stance that pervades all Earthy matter, and is also in every combination 
of Spirit matter as one of its constituents. Od is, indeed, the grand base 
of Spirit matter, as Body is of Earthy. The other two substances, or 
essences, of spirit matter, are in the same relation to Od, that Magnetism 
and Caloric have to Body. But the different nature of these substances 
from any thing of Earthy nature, which alone is cognizable by men in the 
body, will prevent a further disclosure at present respecting them and 
their combinations with Od, except that the past furnishes a proof that 
man may advance in capacity to receive by receiving. The ignorant 
man must receive little by little of the most familiar kinds of knowledge. 
Those who have much, also receive in small quantities compared to the 
whole they have received, but inasmuch as they have already received a 
hundred or a thousand fold more than the ignorant man, they can add to 
what they have, a hundred or a thousand times as much at once. To 
whom much is given, much is required, and to him that hath, shall be 
given, is true in both physical and spiritual things, as well as in mental. 
What, then, shall we do to make you acquainted with the Spirit sub- 
stance, or matter, at this time ? We will leave you to digest what you 
have been told. If you can not receive this, you can not have more, be- 
cause more could not add to your knowledge, unless you have faith in 
what is already given. Such is the law of progress here and hereafter. 
So is one law sufficient for all mental, or intellectual progress, and for 



CI 

all Divine progress. This one law is Divine in its origin, though promul- 
gated through the Word. It is the law which gives progress to soul and 
spirit intellect (which is a different thing from soul), and to mental, or 
earthly intellect (which is a different kind from spiritual). But in the 
earthly intellect Magnetism is the active agent, the essence which is its 
base, and which never leaves it inactive. In the Spiritual intellect, it is 
a higher, or more refined substance, or essence, which has the same office 
to fill. So there is a correspondence between the earthy and the spiritual. 

§ 4. But in the Soul, or attached to the Divine essence, or substance, is 
also an intellect, or perception, which is, indeed, a kind of mind ; but it is 
the Divine Mind which pervades all Divinity. It is Wisdom of God, 
which, by virtue of the unity of the Sons of God with his Divine Nature, 
becomes a part of, or a possession which is shared by the Son. So the 
Divine Mind becomes the fountain of Wisdom for all His Procedures, or 
Adams. Again, Adam, or Adamic Force, is the substance, or essence 
which, as I have stated, pervades all Earthy and all Spiritual matter. It 
is a substance possessed by God. even as He possesses all things created 
and uncreated ; but the Adam is a procedure from Him of a part of His 
Divinity, combined with a created substance, which is properly the dis- 
tinguishing feature of the soul of Man; and which, in Paradise and in 
the Seventh Circle of the Seventh Sphere, forms the body of the soul, or 
Procedure. But though this base, as it might be termed, of the soul, is 
created, it is not perishable, and needs no renewal. It is that part of the 
soul, or of man, which distinguishes it from Deity, and it is this essence, 
or created substance, that God can annihilate, and if He did annihilate it, 
would leave unexistent, memory of the past, and, what is inseparable 
from that memory, consciousness of individual existence. Individuality 
is its feature and quality, which I will use hereafter as its name. Indi- 
viduality, then, as well as Divinity, pervades all matter, and it is by this 
pervasion of Individuality existing in all creation, or all combination of 
created things, that Sons of God in the highest circle act upon and control 
all created matter. But Divinity also pervades them and all created mat- 
ter, and thus, Divinity is that quality, or essence, of the Deity, who is 
One. and unchangeable, which is the means of His control of all His 
creation. God is All in all. He is the Creator of all, and the Pervade* 
of all. It is by pervading all things that He controls all, and it is by con- 
trolling all that He sustains all, and maintains all in harmony and order. 
Such is Creation. 

§ 5. But where is the Word in this scheme ! It is not assigned a place, 
and yet by it all things are made that have been made. It is the Word 
which pervades all things created, or proceeding from God; for the Word 
is God. Yet though the Word is God, the Word is not the whole of God; 
as I have explained in the First Book of the First Series. God is not the 
Word in any other sense than that He is every thing. The Word is God 
though, because it is uncombined with any thing else, and is a procedure 
from God without combination, as the Soul of man is a procedure com- 
bined with Individuality. Then, does not the Word possess Individu- 
ality ? Not as a part of itself. The Word has Memory of the Past, by 
pervading all it has created, and when any part of its creation is anni- 



62 

hilated, the Word no longer possesses a memory of its having been. The, 
Word is that part of God, then, which pervades every part of creation, 
every created thing. The Word of God is God, but not the whole of God. 
The Word is Divine, it is Divinity. The soul of man is Divine in part. 
All that is immortal is Divine. The soul is Divinity and Individuality 
combined, in -that intimate, irreducible combination which I have stated 
to belong to all primary combinations. Nothing but the Will of God can 
separate the two essences, which form the soul. But, besides the combi- 
nation of the two essences forming the soul, there is a pervasion of the 
Soul by Divinity, or the Word of God, in an uncombined state. You 
are requested to note, or bear in mind continually, the exact meaning of 
words now, for otherwise you will not obtain an understanding of the 
high and holy revelations I am making. Combination and pervasion, are 
different, as you know, or may ascertain. Divinity is combined with In- 
dividuality, forming the Soul of man, or the real man. Divinity also per- 
vades the soul in an uncombined state, and it is by this uncombined Di- 
vinity that the Word, which is Divinity, acts upon Man's soul. And. 
although God also, in His Fullness, pervades all things, it is chiefly 
through the Word that He acts on men. He may act directly because 
His Power is Unlimited. Should He act directly, it would be by means 
of His pervasion of the Soul (and all other things) by His Fullness. 

God, then, is All in all. God is All, but all is not God. So, God is 
the Word, but the Word is not God. This now explains the darkness 
that you thought was in my first description of the Word, in the First 
Book of the First Series. Then the light shone into the darkness, but the 
darkness comprehended it not. Now the light is comprehended by those 
who have desired to receive it, and read attentively with that desire to 
understand, or receive. 

§ 6. There is, then, First, GOD, ETERNAL, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, 
(except to Himself), INFINITE, UNCHANGEABLE. He is One. He is 
All. There is nothing but God, except as He Wills it to be. There is 
nothing that He has not, and does not continue to will to be. If He willed 
it not to be, it would cease to exist; and if He willed it to utterly cease, even 
all memory of it would go out of existence. He is the One True God, 
whom the Antediluvians worshiped. He is the God of Adam, of Noah, 
of Abraham, and of Christ. He is the God in whom you and Ilive, 
move, and have our being. By Him we exist, and without Him we be- 
come more than dead, we become as if we had not been. For though the 
Divinity in us is immortal, and therefore imperishable, yet when its Indi- 
viduality is separated, and non-existent, the Divinity is purely God, and 
is as united to Him as if it had never been separated. It is thus that 
man is Immortal. But he has also a kind of Immortality in the Un- 
changeableness of God, in the consequence of which he will never be an- 
nihilated, but be ever maintained as a glorious manifestation of the Power, 
Wisdom, and Love, of Deity. 

§ 7. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God. There was a time when the Word, now separated 
from God by being a Procedure from Him, was in God not only, but with 
God, and was God. But now the Word is with God only as co-existent, 



63 

and as being pervaded by God. The Word is quick and powerful ; sharp- 
er than a Two-edged sword to the dividing asunder the joints and marrow, 
the body and spirit, the spirit and soul of man. But the Word is acting 
ever in the Will of God. and never had Free- Will, or a Will of its own. 
It has. therefore, always done the Will of God, and will always continue 
to do so. 

The Word, then, is the Highest Procedure from God, and the most like 
God. being, indeed, a part of God, without having any combination with 
any created substance. The Word is of one substance, or essence, un- 
combined : which substance is Divinity, which Divinity is a part of God. 
Is God. then, composed of combined essences, or is He all Divinity ? He 
is One. and He is Incomprehensible to man, and to Spirits. God is One, but 
yet. besides being Divinity. He is Love, Power, Wisdom. These are His 
attributes, besides others. The Word is Divinity ', without these attri- 
butes. What. then, is Divinity ? Divinity is Deity, but Deity is not mere- 
ly Divinity. Divinity is Power, but Power is not merely Divinity. Di- 
vinity is Love, but yet Love is not merely Divinity. Divinity is Wisdom, 
but yet Wisdom is not merely Divinity. Divinity is that part of God 
which by His Will became the Word. It is the Word, and is that quality, 
or essence, by which the world and all else was made, though not unas- 
sisted by God, the One Universal One. The OXE WHOLE, uncombined, 
unseparate. inseparable Being, who is, and was, and ever will be, 
INFINITE in every thing, and that is thousands and tens of thousands 
of qualities, or faculties, which never have been, and never can be, in 
the First Sphere, imagined, or conceived of. GOD is One Infinite. 
The Word is One Finite. The Word is GOD, but GOD is more than 
the Word. And from this brief recapitulation of what these Beings are, 
and are not. you may get in your mind some idea of them ; but though 
the Word is finite, your natiu'e is now so obscured by the fetters of earthy 
matter, and the also prison garb of spirit matter, that you can not con- 
ceive of the high nature and attributes of the finite Word. Let us, there- 
fore, leave that, and briefly recapitulate the relations of the different parts 
of creation to each other, to the Word, and to God. 

The Deity caused the procedure of the Word from Himself, in that 
very remote and incomprehensible time called the beginning. The Word 
existed a long time in the Will of God, inactive. But when God resolved 
to have a creation of matter. He willed to have it, and the Word proceed- 
ed to execute God's Will. It created matter as I have described in the 
First Book of this Series, by creating, by God : s Power from nothing, cer- 
tain substances, or elements, or essences, with which It should act ever 
after, as long as God is pleased to have It exist. These substances, or 
primary essences. I have described to you in this Chapter. 

S 8. The essence that, combined with the Word, or Divinity, forms the 
soul is Individuality. It is a combination of the two essences, having by 
the law of the creation of Individuality, an extraordinary affinity to com- 
bine in certain relative proportions, definite, and when combined, irre- 
solvable, except by the action of the Word, or of God. When combined, 
there can be no change of the combination by an addition of the one, or 
the other part, without a resolution of the combination. But the combi- 



64 

nation may be pervaded by either substance in a greater or less degree ; 
except that Individuality, having no uncombined existence, because of its 
affinity for Divinity, none exists uncombined, and therefore, soul, or 
adam, is only pervaded by God, and the Word or Divinity, except that 
other separate, or determinate combinations, or souls, or adams, may also 
pervade the soul of man. Now, it is by this pervasion that / act upon 
the soul of this medium. It is also by pervasion that the Word of God 
acts upon the soul of any man. It is also by pervasion that GOD acts 
upon the soul of any man, or spirit, or upon the Word. The Word per- 
vades the sou] always. I pervade it only specially. The action of the 
Word is above my action, and the action of God is above the action of the 
Word. Why, then, should you listen to me, when you have the Word 
ever present in you, will be one objector's cavil ; and why should you 
listen to me, or the Word, when you have God ever within you, will be 
another objector's cavil. You should listen to me, because I would not 
ask you to, except it were God's will that I should speak to you thus, and 
because He chooses to have His Revelation made in this way. He never 
has revealed Himself directly to His creatures, nor is resolved to do so 
now. He has never acted unnecessarily, and He ever acts by the best 
means He possesses, and He always has such means as He chooses to 
have. Let us all endeavor to be willing to hear Him through His chosen 
servant, whoever or whatever it may be. If we can not succeed in this 
endeavor, it is because we do not try, and we shall, in consequence, be 
left without the blessed knowledge of His Revealed- Will. Be then de- 
sirous to know God, and to know His Will, and to do it. So shall His 
Will be done on Earth as in Heaven. So shall you be reconciled to God, 
and till you are reconciled, you can not be at peace with Him. When 
you are at peace with Him, you will enjoy that peace which the world 
can not give nor take away. May you earnestly strive, and perseveringly 
seek to obtain this Heavenly blessing, is my prayer. Amen. 

§ 9. Next lower in the order of Creation, as to quality, or dignity, i3 
Spirit matter. Individuality might be called matter, as it is created and 
destructible, but inasmuch as it is unchangeable in its relation, or com- 
bination with Divinity, it may be well called by another name, and re- 
garded as Immortal, or Eternal. If called matter, then it should be called 
Immortal, or Eternal matter : while Spirit matter should be called incor- 
ruptible, though changeable matter: and Earthy matter corruptible, or 
perishable matter. Not that Earthy matter is truly perishable by decay, 
but that it changes its form by decay, and by change of combination 
effected by action of itself upon itself. Spirit matter changes only by 
action upon it of Divinity, or Adam, or Soul. 

Spirit matter is a combination of Od and two other essences, or primary 
substances, which exist in various relations and combinations, and is per- 
vaded by adam, by Divinity, and GOD. It is pervaded by adam spe- 
cially, and by Divinity and Deity generally, or always. Spirit bodies are 
formed by action of Word upon Od, causing Od to combine with the other 
substances forming spirit matter in definite, but variable proportions ; and 
as Od pervades all Earthy matter, whenever a Spirit is formed in a body, 
it is by the Word having established the law under which the Od in the 



65 

Earthy body combined with the two undescribed substances, and forms a 
spiritual body in the form of the outward, or earthy type. Not precisely 
in the form of the outward body, but in such form as that body should 
have, to be perfect. Thus the spiritual body has none of the imperfec- 
tions, or deformities, of the earthy body, though it sometimes chooses, in 
its separate existence, to manifest its identity by assuming, or manifesting 
an assumption of them. So are fears of men acted upon by apparitions, 
and their apprehensions excited that they may retain, in the world, or 
state to come, the defects of bodily organization. 

Let us return to the organization of spirit-matter. Od is the base ; but 
though it is always this which at least is present, it has not. that affinity 
for other spirit substances which causes it to seek them and combine with 
them, unless impelled by Adam, or soul, or some kind of Life. Spirit is 
no more Life, or alive, than Earthy matter ; and it requires the impulse 
of Life to combine and sustain it. Without Life being in a sustaining 
relation to it. it dissolves into its constituent materials, which, however, 
do not thereby perish, though they cease to act upon each other. The 
two unnamed substances are extremely subtile in their nature, and hav- 
ing no relations, connections, or combinations with Earthy matter, can 
not be discovered by Earthy perceptions. They are to Od, what elec- 
tricity, or magnetism, is to Body, or the gross, or visible combinations and 
forms of it. When set free, they mingle into the Spiritual atmosphere, 
which has existence in the Spirit- World, in a manner analagous to the 
atmosphere of Earth : and as Oxygen and Nitrogen form the atmosphere 
by their combination, so these two substances form the spirit atmosphere 
by their combination in a certain definite proportion. One of these sub- 
stances combines also with Aura, and it is by that affinity and power, or 
susceptibility of being combined, that spiritual bodies can pass from 
planet to planet, from system to system, and from coelum to caelum, and 
so on through all the illimitable creation. Aura is only another name for 
Word, which, as I have said, pervades all things, and exists throughout 
the whole Infinite Creation, and even beyond the Creation as far as God 
extends, which is Infinite, and beyond any thing that Finite beings can 
understand, or imagine, or suppose, in the most remote approach toward 
conception of. Aura being the Word, and the spiritual substance com- 
bining with It, It can act with, and upon the spiritual substance, so as to 
be its controlling medium in a double manner. First ; by pervading Od, 
and all substances and forms. Second ; by combining with what we will 
call Magnetic-Od, that is, one of the substances that combines with Od ; 
and the one that is capable of certain kinds, or forms, of combination with 
Word, or Aura. Word, or Aura, thus possesses a double relation to 
Spirit matter, the one general, the other special. The one derived from 
pervasion, the other from combination. The one It has of Itself, tho 
other by the Will of Spirit-Intelligence. For the combination with Aura 
is always made like all other Spirit combinations, under the influence of 
Life, and this Life can only be derived from God, and only exists in His 
procedures, or adams, or souls. The other substance might be called 
Magnetic-Od, too, but that it is grosser, wanting the power of combining 
with Aura, and therefore we will name it to men as Electric-Od. For 

5 



66 

electricity is to magnetism, as magnetism is to od. And electric-od is to 
magnetic-od, as magnetic-od is to Aura. Electricity may combine with 
magnetism, but not with Od ; but magnetism may combine with od, under 
the influence of Spiritual-Life, or Mind, or Intelligence ; which, in fact, is 
sustained and established in being by adam, or primarily by Divinity, 
which is Word, or Aura. For these three are one, being different names 
for one substance, manifested in different ways, yet having always one 
nature. 

Spirit-matter, then, exists generally uncombined with od, or itself, ex- 
cept that magnetic-od and electric-od are generally combined into a 
spiritual atmosphere, when not in combination with od. Od is the base 
of all spiritual bodies, or what may be compared to earthy fluids, or 
solids, or visibilities, while the other two are like earthy gases, or atmos- 
phere, compared to solids, or visibilities. Od, pervading all earthy-matter, 
is ever ready to be acted upon by Life, and when the soul, or adam, enters 
the newly-born child, the action of its entrance causes the immediate 
affinity of od for magnetic and electric-od to take place, and the moment 
the affinity exists, the Aura also pervading all substances and all space, 
transmits to the affinity, or desire, of Od the desired, or required, quantity 
of the other two substances, which are as readily transmitted as elec- 
tricity by an insulated wire, and far more rapidly. The body is then 
formed immediately in the perfection to which it is entitled, and is re- 
tained so long as the laws of its sustaining life requires. There is no 
possibility of its disruption, or dissolution, because the law of its existence 
depends on the affinity caused by the life, which, in the case of a spiritual 
body, is an involuntary action of the Life, and beyond the power of the 
Life to pretermit, or intermit. The Sjriritual-Body, then, is formed of a 
combination of Od, Magnetic- Od, and Electric- Od ; united by the affinity 
produced by the contact of Individuality, or its combination with Divinity, 
called Adam ; and pervaded by Adam, or Soul ; by Aura, or Word ; and 
by DEITY, or GOD. 

So, too, Earthy-Matter is composed of combined Body, Caloric, and 
Magnetism ; pervaded by Od ; by Aura, or Word ; and by DEITY ; and in 
special cases like human bodies, by Life, (or the combination of Aura, or 
Divinity, and Individuality.) But how is the life of animals distinguish- 
ed from that of the human form ? This question I will answer in my 
next division. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE I. 

The Qualities of Matter, in Relation to Life. 

§ 10. Animals are well known to be of various degrees of development. 
The chain of existence has been perceived, by man's reason, to extend 
from him to the lowest discoverable attribute of life, in regular gradation. 
From this many have supposed Life was spontaneously produced from in- 
animate matter, or that all matter was endued with life, and that conse- 
quently, life was only a manifestation of a property common to all matter, 
and always existing, never ceasing, only changing from one object to an- 



67 

oilier. The belief in metempsychosis of the soul is only a consequent, or 
analogy, drawn from the assumption that Life belongs to matter, and, 
therefore, does not perish as long as matter remains for it to combine 
with. 

Animals differ in their life from each other, and they all differ from 
vegetables, while vegetable life can scarcely be said to include all that 
animal does not. for there is a kind of mineral life difficult to discover 
and prove by reason, yet suspected and believed in by some, which really 
exists. It is mineral life. The popular, or once popular opinion, that 
rocks grow, is not altogether without foundation, though it is very differ- 
ent in detail from what was supposed. 

The difference between animal and human life is, that to the former is 
added a soul, or adam ; and I have explained that the soul causes the ex- 
istence of the spiritual body. Animals have only earthy bodies, yet 
animals have life, and the life of the animal body is the same as that of 
the human body. It is only a limited intelligence, unreasoning it can not 
be called, yet reasoning loosely and incorrectly on most subjects, and 
guided far more by instinct, than by it. Instinct, too. is a species of in- 
telligence which animals and men both possess. The instinct of some 
animals is superior to that of man, but yet man has a large development 
of instinct. It is instinct that prompts many actions and opinions under 
which men reason and act, besides those of infancy with which all are 
familiar. But instinct is a peculiarity of animal life. There is an intel- 
ligence, or definite course of action, in vegetables, which resembles in- 
stinct, as much as instinct resembles reason; but it is no more instinct. 
than instinct is reason, or reason the true intelligence, or mind, of man. 

|11. Life in its lowest form is a quality of matter dependent upon 
electric action. It is inherent to a certain arrangement of particles, or ul- 
timate atoms and combinations, of the magnetic and electric elements, 
with their base, or Body. It is produced, like all other things, by the 
Word. But the Word produces it by certain laws, which ever exist, and 
continue to act to produce it, or develop the circumstances by which, or in 
which, it is manifested, The form of life which men have most investi- 
gated is the vegetable, by which matter assumes before their observation 
such extraordinary changes as extension, erection, and variation in func- 
tion. First, the seed is formed ; the tree appears to result from it; the 
flower and the fruit follow in due time. The seed is cast to earth, the 
tree itself falls and decays : all the investigations of science but declare 
these well-known facts, though expressed sometimes with so many details 
of the process- that the ignorant are induced to believe them more know- 
ing than they really are. Whether Life is a principle, or an effect of a 
principle, is yet unknown. Whether Life is an end, or a means, is also 
unknown. But I will reveal to my readers what life is. 

$ 12. Life is. as I said before, a quality of matter dependent upon 
electric action, in its lowest form. In its higher form, dependent upon 
magnetic action: in a still higher, dependent upon odic force: and in its 
highest form a procedure from God Himself, through the Word. The 
first manifestation of life, in earthy matter, is that of compression, or 
gravitation, or condensation. For the inherent laws, or properties, of 



68 

earthy-matter cause it to make continual progress toward solidity, and 
when solid, to become more dense. Matter first exists as gas of a very 
attenuated nature. Its condensation goes on by changes, and various 
combinations, caused by its laws primarily, by its action on itself imme- 
diately, till it reaches the state in which we see it, or know it, of solids, 
fluid, and gaseous. It is also evident to men that the addition of caloric 
changes many solids to liquids, and a further addition makes the fluid 
gaseous. So, too, it has been ascertained that gases can be combined to 
solids, and that when this result is accomplished, calorie is disengaged, or 
set free, as it is usually termed. Caloric is, indeed, the chief agent in 
producing these changes at the will of intelligence, but laws of matter im- 
pel it to act continually, without the interference of any intelligence, and 
by those laws continual condensation continues. By these laws, matter 
will at last be brought into a solid and very dense mass. But the Word 
can set other laws in operation that will cause it to expand, and continu- 
ally recede from solidity. Matter will never need to be re-created, be- 
cause the Word can cause it to assume any shape it may desire, and it 
can as well employ this present matter as any other which it might pro- 
duce. For matter does not lessen with all its changes, neither does it 
receive injury by any combination or dissolution, 

§13. But how it is that Life is the result of electric action, I can hardly 
make known to you, for you are unwilling to believe, and what we do 
unwillingly, we generally do with difficulty, A law of the Word, rela- 
tive to matter, is that its action must be constant, unintermitting. By 
that law, motion is produced, and motion is regarded, and justly, too, as a 
sign of life. Electricity is the agent of motion, and of change. As it con- 
tinually passes from one body, or combination, of earthy matter, to an- 
other, it acts on the substances it passes through, or upon. It loses some 
of itself in one place, it gathers in another. But in such change of com- 
bination, an average of condensation is increased. Thus motion is the 
element of progress, and the immediate cause of Life. For this seed of a 
vegetable we have instanced, being placed in the earthy matter, where 
earthy combinations of solids, fluids, and gases have free access to it, 
receives by electric action, an impulse to combine with the earthy sub- 
stances which surround it, and having had laws of Word impressed upon 
it, governing the course of its agglomeration of matter, it proceeds, or 
grows, in a certain determinate form, manifesting life, indeed, but life 
under great restraint, or confined to one position and a similarity of form 
to its parent stock. The germ of the vegetable, or seed, contains only a 
certain combination of earthy particles, or arrangement of ultimate atoms 
of Body, with certain combinations of Calorie and Magnetism, which are 
peculiar to a certain vegetable form, or manifestation : and that combina- 
tion, exposed in this way to electric action, collecst and agglomerates in a 
certain definite manner other combinations of earthy matter, by which the 
plant is produced ; by which each seed produces, or expands, by ag- 
glomeration, into a vegetable whole of its own kind. Having passed all 
the stages of its being, if not interrupted by some deficiency of electric ac- 
tion or foreign influence, it dies, or decays, and returns to a more solid 
form than it before possessed : leaving behind it : in general, such parts of 



69 

itself, as seeds, as contain again that certain form, or manner of combina- 
tion, peculiar to its species. 

The principal difference between vegetable and animal life, is the pow- 
er of locomotion. The same action of electricity upon the same seed, or 
small part of itself, containing, however, its peculiar combination of mat- 
ter, exists in animals. This seed must, in a similar manner, be placed 
where the action of various earthy substances in all their different 
forms of solid, fluid, and gaseous, can have access to it, and by the inces- 
sant electric action of the germ, or seed, they are joined to, or combined 
with it, causing growth and development, till at last the locomotive an- 
imal appears from the germ or seed, or ova or egg, which contained its 
constituent, determinate, and peculiar combination. This combination 
evinces instinct, if it belongs to it, for instinct is unreasoning, and is only 
a law of affinity expanded to suit the circumstances of its action, or rela- 
tion to the mass upon which it is required to operate. 

§ 14. We have, however, higher animals, which appear to possess pow- 
ers of memory and reason, or actions founded on previous actions, without 
being consequent upon the action. These reasoning powers are the result 
of magnetic action, combined with electric, and acting under the laws im- 
pressed upon the combination peculiar to the species, or individual. The 
law comes from the Word ; and the Word, pervading all things, is ever 
present to sustain the action of Its law, if such necessity should exist. But 
the laws of the Word in relation to matter are self-acting and self-sus- 
taining, as they were ordained to be. 

Reason, then, as we call the actions of animals founded on past expe- 
rience of themselves, or others, is a quality of matter, of earthy matter ! 
Yes, but that is a low animal form of it. The reasoning powers of man 
are dependent on further combination with spirit matter, or od. It is this 
combination which enables him to carry his mind, with all its attendant 
attributes, to the Spirit- World, where only Od can enter of all that aided 
his animal reason. The soul, or adam, has intelligence before it is united 
with the body, but intelligence is thwarted in effort to act through the 
bodily senses, or perceptive faculties, and exists in a latent or slumbering 
state, while within the prison-house of the body. Its first action on en- 
tering the body, was to cause the production of the spiritual body, but 
that was accomplished by affinity, under law requiring, or admitting, no 
exercise of reason. The next perception we can have of its action, or ex- 
istence, is the aspiration for something better than the bodily, or earthly, 
life affords, a desire for a higher state of existence, and an instinctive, or 
rather intuitive, assurance of immortality. This is all the soul generally 
gives to the intellect in the body ; but sometimes it is made a medium of 
communication between God, or the Word, or another soul, or a high 
spirit of God, by which truth, or revelation, is conveyed to the mind of the 
earthy body conjoined to the spiritual intelligence. The soul receives 
and transmits to the odic part of the mind, by the Magnetic Od of the 
spiritual body. The odie force, or od, then transmits the communication 
to the magnetic substance of the earthy body, or mind, and it directs the 
action of the obedient muscles to execute its will. This is the process of 
writing this book, as I before explained in the First part of this Series. 



70 

$ 15. The spiritual intelligence, though, acts with the earthy intelli- 
gence, and though located in different portions of the "brain in greater or 
less predominance, the two intermingle with each other, and act in con- 
cert, by which the earthy and the spiritual bodies are connected and 
made one man, or being, instead of two separate beings, as they are sepa- 
rate existences. The nature of man is dual. First , by being pairital in 
Paradise, and in the Seventh Circle of the Seventh Sphere. Second, by 
being doable-bodied on the Earth; and. Third, by having a Spiritual body 
and mind acting in harmony with the adam, or soul, in the Spirit-World, 
till it arrives at the last circle of it. This is an explanation of that 
doubleness which so influences men in this life, and in the future. A 
striving to do two incompatible things : to follow two contradictory objects, 
or courses of action : and this manifestation of man's duality is the remote 
cause of the doctrine of a principle of Evil, wholly, or partially, independ- 
ent of God; of the doctrine of human depravity, and the fallen nature of 
the soul of man. This it is which has been so much in the way of man's 
progress, that it has now pleased God to make a new manifestation of His 
Power and Love in this period of time. It is this doctrine I am most 
anxious to eradicate, and to elevate your ideas of your God, and of your 
own immortal nature, so that you shall be brought to a willingness to 
submit to God, the Giver of All Good. Then let me entreat every man to 
investigate calmly, fully, impartially ; remembering, on the one hand, 
that he must discard every desire but that of arriving at truth ; and on 
the other, that God will require a strict account of the manner in which 
he reached his conclusion ; and that his reward will be found according to 
his works. Let no man say, " Thou art an austere master, and I fear to 
investigate, for if I believe, I shall have more to do, more responsibility.' 7 
Remember that the responsibility you already possess ; and that to wrap 
your talent in a napkin is by no means satisfactory to Him who gave it. 
He asks of you not that which He gave, but its proper result ; the im- 
provement of every opportunity to enlarge the sphere of your usefulness 
and responsibility. Remember, then, that you are called and invited to the 
marriage feast, and that the Master of the Feast will have His tables filled 
with those who have on wedding garments ; and that you must, if you do 
not procure the garment, be cast into darkness, where there is weeping, 
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth ; or in other words, deep and humili- 
ating disappointment. 

§ 16. How, then, shall you obtain satisfaction? How shall you be held 
excused, if you do not believe after you investigate? By your fervent 
prayer to God, to help you to know the Truth ; by your sincere desire to 
receive the Truth ; by your ardent pursuit of the inquiry after Truth by 
reading faithfully, carefully, and repeatedly, the works I have delivered 
through this medium : and if you lack yet evidence, outward, perceptible, 
to your outward, or earthy mind, go to a medium and investigate, test, 
try to find out some earthly, or juggling means, by which responses of in- 
telligent answers to your impertinent questions are made, beeause God 
condescends even to satisfy you so. When you believe the Medium is 
really a spiritual one, ask if this Book and others, through this, man, or 
medium, are true. Ask with a resolution to conform your belief to the 



71 

answer, and if you have followed my directions above given first, you 
will be brought to a knowledge of that peace which cometh down from 
Heaven. But more blessed are they who give, than they who receive ; 
and more blessed are they who believe without having seen. Give to 
others all the light, and lead them to all the Truth you can. Fear not 
to come out and sacrifice your friends, your opinions, your political pros- 
pects, your business qualifications, your family ties, even; if such, to 
human reason, appears to be the inevitable consequence of your avowal 
of, and public support of, the Truth. Be assured that not a hair of your 
head shall be touched without God''s knowledge, and that none of these 
consequences shall fall upon you, nor the most trifling approach to them, 
without His notice ; and be assured that He is an abundant rewarder, and 
a sure paymaster. He will abundantly compensate to you every loss, 
though they should equal Job's losses ) and the first payment you will 
receive will be that peace which none but God can give, and which no 
one but yourself can deprive you of. Of the nature and extent of this 
peace I have before written, but I have not, and can not, describe its full- 
ness. Man in body seldom enjoys much of it, because he is too outward 
in his views. He seeks and finds other enjoyments, while, if he were 
wise, he would seek only this, and so seeking, would surely find it. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE RELATIONS OF MAN TO GOD. 



PART FIRST. 

Godh Requirements of Man. 

$ 17 There is a sure and perfect salvation provided for all mankind. 
It is not by works, but by mercy. It is not of themselves attainable, but 
by the assistance of the Deity, who has prepared it for them. But the 
Deity does not act Himself, when He has agents, or sons ; High Spirits 
desiring to act for Him, benefited by acting for Him ; and under them, an 
innumerable company of aspiring spirits, all desirous to do the Will of 
God, and to serve God in any way most pleasing to Him. These lower, 
but aspiring spirits, having very various degrees of advancement and sta- 
tion, all advance themselves by attending to duties suitable to their ca- 
pacity. Having, then, this inducement to serve God, which is to serve 
their fellow-beings, it is reasonable to suppose that they will be desirous 
to do so; and enjoy not only the action, or work, which is pleasurable, but 
the reward which is so glorious, and so sure. You no doubt think that 
when you are one of this joyful company, you will be one of the willing 
and obedient ones : and that nothing will divert your attention from your 



72 

duties, or cause you to suspend, for a moment of time, those pursuits 
which are thus the cause and the means of your progress, and the reward 
of their own performance. 

But, Reader ! could you know, as I do, that even in the Spirit- 
World the sacrifice of your Free- Will is required, and that it is made 
generally with reluctance, and always "by degrees ; could you know how 
powerful is the influence of bodily experience, or habit, upon the Spiritual 
Intelligence, which in that World to come enchains the soul and prevents 
it from soaring at once to the feet of God ; could you know that you will 
find so many clogs, so many difficulties thwarting your desires of pro- 
gress, you would, after all, doubt your future happiness. And yet, after 
all, you will be happy at last, and comparatively happy at first, in the 
Spirit- World. For, compared with the Spirit-W r orld, the Earth is dark 
and miserable. But yet, here on this Earth, here in this state of existence, 
dark and miserable as it is, you might enjoy the same progress toward 
Heavenly bliss, you might practice the same means, which, in like man- 
ner, would cause you the same progress in loving God, and approaching 
His throne and His Unity. You might now begin to do those works of 
good to your fellow-creatures, to sacrifice that Free-Will and to soar up- 
ward toward the feet of God in obedience to the aspirations of your soul, 
if you only would resolve to. Not only might you do it here, but you 
could accomplish more here in a year, than there in a hundred, perhaps ; 
or even, there might be a far greater, almost infinitely greater, difference. 
What you think is so easy there, is far easier here; and all that man 
needs, to be placed in advancement on the road to happiness, here, or 
hereafter, is a firm resolution to do the will of God. He can only do 
God's Will by sacrificing his own, and when he sacrifices his Free- Will, 
the Victory is won. He has then fought the good-fight, and henceforth 
he can say, there is laid up for him a crown of eternal glory ; and that 
crown must ultimately be his any how he may behave here. Here, 
Though, is the place to obtain the victory easily. Life in the body is 
short, but exceedingly great is the reward of faithfulness here ; and could 
you appreciate the joy of Heaven, or the inextinguishable rapture of the 
redeemed son of man, who sacrifices on Earth his Free-Will, you would 
not hesitate, though that sacrifice should entail destruction upon every 
earthly hope and prospect : to every earthly possession of wealth, power, 
fame, or even family and friends, or social position. Great is the reward, 
and trifling is the requirement in general. There are times when the 
sacrifice seems too great to make, but then the faithful servant of God 
can cast his burden upon his Master ; for God is ever ready to hear the 
cry of his servants, and to administer to their every want. Far be it 
from me to urge you to seek God for the sake of receiving a reward in 
This present state, but yet I do say, that no man sacrifices houses or lands, 
wife or children, that doth not receive a hundred-fold in this present 
world, and in the World to come, Life Everlasting. Far be it from me to 
ask you to serve God for the applauses of Men, but yet, who seeth the 
righteous man trampled under the feet of the worldly, or his seed degraded 
in the land ? 

§18. Oh, Americans ! you know not the blessings you enjoy, the ease in 



73 

which you li\e. the advantages you possess. Long ages did my servants 
bleed and die arter suffering prolonged afflictions for religious liberty. 
Long did the cause appear to them hopeless, and the heavens as brass. 
But now no power threatens you. no persecution endeavors to restrain 
you from following the dictates of the Spirit of God. Instead of persecu- 
tion unto death, you have rather to fear homage for virtue, and inflation 
of your pride by the well-meaning admiration of your acquaintances. It 
is excess of consideration that endangers your path now, rather than the 
opposing influences of a hostile community. I do not say that the avowal 
of belief in the present manifestation of God"s Love produces these tem- 
poral, or Earthly rewards, but that Good Works in general, and the sacri- 
fice of your own will to God. has done, and will do it still in this favored 
land. Still, the opposition to Spirit believers, though somewhat acrimoni- 
ous, is. in general, tempered by the reflection, that effort to restrain, or 
punish, their credulity, as it is generally termed, is unavailing, and op- 
posed to the spirit and letter of the supreme law of the land. In fact, 
then, you have great advantages, and God has chosen the time well, that 
He should now manifest His Love, and call you to return to Him that 
Free-Will which He conferred upon you as His highest. His crowning 
gift. Then, oh, Americans ! walk humbly before God. Resolve not to 
oppose any thing that you are unacquainted with, because you think you 
know somewhat else. Be careful that you do not be found resisting God"s 
work, for be assured that this work will not stand unless it cometh from 
God : and you all know that you can not successfully fight against God. 
But you say. Mormonism is a delusion, and it has made great progress ? 
You will say. Mohammed was an impostor, and yet. his religion stands to 
this day ! But remember, oh, Man ! that you have opposed both these 
unavailingly. while God shall say. Thus far shalt thou cotne, and no 
farther, but there shalt thy proud progress be forever staid. 

§ 19. "What is Mormonism? Is it. after all, when preached in its pu- 
rity, a pure religion, and a calling of men to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, 
that shall be established as the Fifth Monarchy ? True, Mormonism has 
been perverted by those who should have been its protectors, as they were 
its leaders : but so was Christianity, as all admit, though some call one 
thing perversion, and some another. But after all, God will bring good 
out of evil : and. though Mormonism has borne bad fruit and shall be cut 
down, it has. nevertheless, prepared the minds of many, and those not 
only of its members, but of others, to receive the pure spiritual teachings ; 
and the evil is transient, the good is permanent. The mercy of God will 
pardon the ignorant, the deluded : and His justice will punish every man 
according to his works, his intentions, and his desires. For all these, if 
evil, he must make atonement : and for all these, if good, he shall be re- 
warded by advancement in that spiritual progress we all have to under- 
take and accomplish. 

§ 20. So. too. view the followers of the impostor Mohammed : a rank im- 
postor, but nevertheless, an instrument of good. He receives his reward 
by having to make atonement for his sins, by having to suffer remorse for 
the success of his teachings, and the obstinacy with which his followers 
resist the truth. But read history, learn the state of the Church, that 



74 

called itself Christian in those days. See how the world, and its delights, 
prevailed over the love of God. and the Peace from Heaven. See how its 
Bishops contended, and even fought, for power and rank. See how the 
people became idolaters, and worshiped images. See how they divided 
the Unity of God. and dared to make me His equal. "Was this a religion 
to be defended by miracles, and retained in power by my strength ? or 
was it not well that the effeminate Greeks, slaves of lust and cringing to 
despots, should lose — what ? Not their liberty, they had none : not 
their religion, for no conqueror can take that from any man ; and the fol- 
lowers of Mohammed were uncommonly lenient to an opposing faith, for 
that age of the world : not their wealth, for they left them no more bur- 
dened with taxes than before : but their pride was abased. They robbed 
them of their overweening pride, that made them esteem themselves as su- 
perior to all other nations and as the particular favorites of Hea\ 
Who shall say. after making himself acquainted with what history has 
recorded of them and their conquerors, that they were better in any re- 
spect than the Arabian ! Who shall even say, that the departure from truth 
was greater in Mohammedanism, than in Greek religious worship ? Even 
the statues of the profligate despots, in compliance with the old Pagan 
custom, were almost declared sacred by the highest dignitaries, or authori- 
ties of the Church, while the common people did actually consider them 
as worthy of wor ship. And, truly, they were as worthy as the images 
of bishops, or other distinguished men, called saints ; which were publicly 
established, and treated with the same respect that the pagan Greeks, long 
before, bestowed upon their deified heroes. Who shall say, the religion 
of the Greeks is now less pure than it was ? or still less, dare they say, it 
is less pure than it would have been, had its corruption by unprincipled 
aspirants for power, continued. 

§ 21. But was not the Roman Church equally corrupt ? No, out of 
that Church came a cloud of witnesses to purity and truth. To be sure 
they met with persecution, but the blood of the martyrs was not lost ; it was 
good seed, and produced other crops of them. And if they did suffer in 
this life, who shall say, that willingly and joyfully as many of them laid 
down their lives, they were not happier than if they had exchanged 
places with the robber noble, or, the pilfering priest ? Who shall say the 
slayer was happier here, or hereafter, than the slain ? and the tears of 
humanity, and the power of God, are both testimonies that they did not 
die in vain. No man sees to the end. God does. Out of evil He brings 
forth good: out of discord, harmony: out of wickedness and disorder, 
righteousness and peace. To Him be evermore praise, honor, and glory, 
world without end. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE H. 

Advice and Warning to Mankind. 

4 22. Let us once more return to the case of Mohammed the impostor. 
He preached One God. He led many from idolatry of many idols to a be- 
lief in the One True, and Living God. Though he joined with that pro- 



75 

fession of faith a declaration that he was the prophet of God, by which he 
made them believe and assert a lie, yet so long as they were deluded, and 
sincere in endeavoring to do good, they were pardoned the false belief. 
Though he was not excused, they were. His followers were enthusiastic, 
a proof of their sincerity. They were frugal and abstemious, a proof of 
their virtue. They were above the fear of death, a proof that they were 
willing to sacrifice the present to the future. All this is very well, you 
say, yet, still they slaughtered, burned, and destroyed? In all these, 
they but did as surrounding nations did, and were neither better nor worse 
for their belief in Mohammed as a prophet. They were better for believing 
in One True and Living God, and so were their enemies. For the belief 
in His judgments often restrained them from worse acts than they did 
commit ; and, barbarous as were the Saracens, the Turks, and the Per- 
sians, after their conversion to Mohammedanism, they were no worse, but 
rather better than the Persians when Magians, or the unconverted Tartars 
that soon 
calamity 
And nc 

at its rulers, or governments, and see their feebleness ; at the people, and 
see their poverty : and at their teachers, and see their ignorance. Do 
they now oppose any obstacle to the spread of Truth ? Do they appear 
resolved to demolish all new revelations, or are they not looking for some- 
thing to occur, that shall change them, and their faith ? Not that they 
suppose the change will be for the better, but that it will be inevitable. 
It was to be, or it would not have been, they will say ; and will receive 
my prophets hereafter, with faith, and having once submitted, will be 
strong in the faith. 

Great and marvelous are thy works, 

Lord God, Almighty! 

Just and True arc all Thy ways, 

Thou King of Saints ! 

Did not my servant John prophesy that the delusion should come, and 
that the deluded armies of scorpions should overthrow, and scatter, and 
destroy ; and that the third part of the earth should be destroyed by them ? 
And if God foresaw it, could He not have guarded against it, if He had 
desired to : and was He not bound to, by His own nature, if their coming 
and conquests were not for a good purpose ? My friend, the question is 
not what you would have done ; but what did God do ? He may have ar- 
ranged matters very differently from what you would have considered wise, 
but yet, I doubt whether you are prepared to say, He made a mistake. 

§23. Where is the day of joy, and where is the time of trouble, snch as 
was never seen before ? The time when men should call on the mount- 
ains to cover them, and the hills to hide them from the face of the Most 
High God? The mountains and hills are the sects in existence. In 
these, men will try to be hidden from God's revelation of His Will, which 
discloses His attributes under a new form, or aspect. This is the time of 
trouble, such as the world never saw, when many shall run to and fro, 
and knowledge shall be increased. But the signs are not so evident, as 
you supposed they would be ; you expected there would be signs in Heaven, 



76 

and mighty deliverances on Earth. So there are, now. Heaven sends 
forth its armies, and the powers of the world are mustering theirs. Ro- 
manism is making a desperate effort; it has emptied Ireland of so many 
of its adherents, that it totters there to its fall. They now begin to fear, 
that in grasping for America, they have lost Ireland. They now desire 
to stay the flood, the mighty river of population, which so unprecedented- 
ly rolls from that fertile island, that might he the garden of the world, to 
the comparative wilderness country of America. But the flood will not 
be stayed, the people will escape from the hands of the priests, for here 
they can not prevail. Another flood now begins to rush upon this favored 
land, bearing with it wealth and strength : and rivalry of the two floods 
shall be the safety of my kingdom. The fusion of the two with the An- 
glo-Saxon, shall again restore the purity of the type, or people. The 
combination of Irish and German, will make Americans most inevitably. 
Power will be proportional to population where freedom prevails ; and so 
long as freedom of discussion prevails, truth fears no overthrow. True it 
is, that Orthodoxy, as its professors delight to call it, fears Catholicism, as 
the Roman believers like to call their profession. But, though Orthodoxy 
is weak, I am strong ; because I work in God's will, they work in their 
own. My revelations shall be established, and men shall know me to be 
the King of Kings, the long-expected, long hoped for, long prayed for, 
Prince of Peace. My kingdom shall be established, and all shall join in 
giving to God the glory and honor of the victory He will have obtained 
over the powers of evil. Let no man take thy crown. Reader. Thy 
crown is thy Free-Will, the crowning gift of all thou hast received from 
God. Let no man take it, let no church, or association of men, take it, 
for I claim it. But I claim it only as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. 
I ask you to be my subject, and I promise you in return for your obedience, 
advancement in that glorious path of progress toward the Mansion of 
Everlasting Bliss. I promise you Eternal Life. And all the promises 1 
make, I am authorized to make by God Himself, and to Him will I lead 
you if you submit to me. But you will, perhaps, say you would rather 
submit to God, and not submit to me? [ do not object, but yet no man 
knoweth the Father but by the Son ; and he that hath seen me, hath seen 
the Father. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life : and if any man come 
unto me, I will be his guide, his helper, and will lead him to fountains 
of bliss and mercy; to fountains of the living water of God's Love, which 
shall be manifested as His Peace, that shall be with the man evermore, 
so that he shall thirst no more. 

$ 24. Come unto me all ye heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Yea, 
rest from your labors. The grievous burdens of the popular theology are 
too heavy to bear. The priests themselves dare not preach the creeds of 
their own sects. They are much farther from believing than from 
preaching them. From preaching them, they are restrained by the fear 
of men's opposition: from believing them, by fear of God's displeasure. 
How can this be ? you say. Is not the last a sufficient fear for both ? 
and if Gods displeasure is feared so as to prevent their belief, would it 
not also prevent their preaching what they do not believe ? No, Reader. 
The heart of man is corrupt, and scarcely knows its own motives when it 



77 

to know them : but when i conceal them from others, it 

generally begins by concealing them from itself. So the priest begins by 
refraining from preaching doctrines too dark and cruel for an enlightened 
and benevolent audience, who have, by free inquiry in political and civil 
affairs, learned to dare a little free inquiry into rel:_ rines. The 

priest fears to shock his people's benevolent ideas of God. by too much 
dwelling upon his dark points of doctrine : such as the vast proportion who 
must be doomed to Hell by the sect's creed : the enormity of the offense 
of those who do not believe what the founder, or founders of his sect did ; 
and as a consequence, the well-merited punishment which those should, 
and must receive : and the exclusiveness of their position by which they 
have secured the favor of God. and can pass from this to the next state. 
unfearing. and with confidence. But alas ! his own fears betray them- 
selves, for he is too apt to portray the horrors of that passage from time to 
eternity. He loves rather to avoid exciting the apprehensions of his hear- 
ers, by dwelling upon the goodness of God. and the gratitude we owe to 
Him. and the pleasures that God has laid up for His children. Having 
thus denied, in effect, his sect's creed, for fear of offending men. he soon 
begins to see. that such a dark doctrine must rob God of His Beauty and 
Holiness, and He finds that He can not believe even so much as he must 
continue to preach, because he gets beyond his congregation in enlighten- 
ment: but yet. his convictions are not strong enough to prevent him from 
trying to please God. and his congregation : to please God. by acting as if 
all men were to be his companions in a future stare : and to please the 
congregation by complacently assuring them that they are the especially 
favored people of Gcd. Having thus reconciled to his own satisfaction 
God and man. he acts in the fear of one. and cultivates the good opinion 
of the other. Bur you may say. it is necessary that he should dissemble 
some to his congregation, that he should imitate Paul, in being all things 
to all men. in order thaT he may at least save some ? But I "would have 
him also imitate Paul, in that he would not overlook the short-comings 
of a single hearer of preaching, but would urge all to serve God by doing 
the works of repentance : and the works of repentance are restitution to 
God of the heart, undefiled by any desire of doing aught but God's will. 
I would have him. like Paul, seek no counsel but of God. Ask not man. 
or men. what he shall declare to the congregation: seek God's guidance, 
and follow it wherever it may lead. It may be that some will refuse to 
hear unwelcome truth : but the consequences must be left to God. Do 
His work, leave to Him the future : and if each day has its duty, each 
will also have its reward. Imitate the independence of Paul, as well as 
his "willingness to assume the character most agreeable to his hearers. 
Depend not on men for support, for bread, but rely on God : and in trust- 
ing to Him feel as much confidence that all "will be well here, if you do 
your duty and obey His will, as you do. or profess to do. that He will re- 
ward those who serve Him. in another place or state of existence. God is 
not a hard master : and I have before told you that the sufferings of the 
martyrs were rather apparent than real, inasmuch as the body can be 
sustained in endurance by the mind, and though health is certainly a 
great blessing, peace of mind is. beyond comparison, greater. Pieader. do 



78 

not apply all that you find in this book to others, when I warn, or 
threaten, or expose. But take that part also to yourself, and try yourself 
by an impartial judgment j and remember, that with that judgment, or 
measure, that you establish, or declare for others, you yourself shall be 
judged. The promises are for you, too; but remember the conditions of 
the promise; and believe that you need reformation as well as your 
neighbor, and that you are as sinful as many a one you regard as being 
as far below you in spiritual advancement as was the publican in the es- 
timation of the pharisee. 



CHAPTER III. 

revelation; past, present, and future. 



PART FIRST. 
Revelation to Mankind. 

§ 25. There is a great work to be accomplished in this present time. 
All men who have desires to love and serve God are called on to help. 
Not because God will be benefited, but because he will be pleased with 
the evidence thereby given, that the man desires to serve God, and be- 
cause the work is serving his fellow-men. It is nothing less than sub- 
jecting all to God. It is nothing less than bringing men to regard and 
obey Christ as their great Head, spiritually, temporally, politically, and 
socially. Christ is King of Kings, and he is now ready to take the govern- 
ment upon his shoulders. He already has invited you to submit to his 
rule. He continues to do it. I appeal to you to be my servants, for this 
is the day of my power. Let each man subject himself first, and then 
enlist in the army of Heaven, in the legion I will lead against the powers 
of darkness and ignorance. On my sword shall be written, The Word of 
God, and legions of spirits, or saints from heaven, shall follow me. Walk 
humbly; be willing to serve as a private. No man shall be promoted to 
command my followers because of his desire, or his social rank, or his 
knowledge, after the manner or education of man. I will raise up such 
as I will have raised, and they shall be such as are faithful witnesses of 
my coming into their hearts, and who give me the glory of causing their 
success over the corruption they had^ rioted in. I will bring forth in them 
the works of repentance, and of faith ; and they shall be willing to lay 
down all earthly possessions and employments to follow me. Yet, it will 
not follow, because they are willing to do it, that I shall call on them to 
do it, for though I love a cheerful giver, I return many fold all I accept. 
T want the Will sacrificed, the willingness once accorded to me, and con- 



79 

tinued to be accorded to me, and I accept the will for the act. I come 
not to destroy, but to fulfill all righteousness and peace, and duties per- 
formed by my servants will be the plain requirements of common sense, 
and such as reason, if unbiased, would direct a man to perform for his 
temporal good. 

§ 26. I desire to have all men seek to know God, and me His Son, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, by prayer, and by receiving, in answer to that, a reve- 
lation of truth. I desire to have you seek for this revelation, each for 
himself, and each in your heart. For if God has power to speak to man, 
He will exercise it under such circumstances. You many of you believe, 
or profess to believe, that revelation ceased long since ; but you can not 
find any authority for it in the Bible. You judged rather from the fact 
that it did not come with outward signs, as formerly. But the power of 
God is no less, and however long the rain may be withheld, it comes at 
last, and is to the parched ground received joyfully, and a return at once 
made by the springing up of plants in the before barren places. Thus it 
should be with men spiritually. There has been a drought of revelation. 
For a long time it has been restricted ; not by the will of God, but by the 
perverseness of men. What men did not desire was not given. Too 
many yet say on one side, the Bible is sufficient for us ; and on the other, 
amplify it by a commentary. On the one hand, they say, Inspiration has 
ceased ; on the other, they pray to have it for their assistance in writing 
or speaking their sermon, or conducting their affairs. They ask God's 
help, well knowing that He has not outwardly, or visibly laid hands upon 
matter, or men, and helped in that way ; well knowing, that if God ever 
helps, it must be by working upon man's internals, or by influencing their 
own, or other men's opinions, or thoughts. How is it, then, that inspira- 
tion has ceased, and yet you pray for it ? How is it that Holy Ghost is 
regarded by you as a part of God, and as God, and yet that you would de- 
prive the Spirit of God of all power, or of the use of the power to address 
you in the heart, in the mind ? How is it that you would declare that 
what is declared by the Holy Spirit is unworthy of belief, and that you 
must not alter any opinion derived from tradition, or experience, that the 
Spirit of God within you shall declare to be wrong, or that it would lead 
you gently away from ? Are you not unwilling to be guided and govern- 
ed by the inward Light that God causes to be manifested in your heart, in 
answer, too, to your own prayer for enlightenment ? Oh, man ! how hard 
it is to surrender your will ! How easy it is for you to resist the Holy 
Influence that God in His benevolence and mercy casts about you ! He 
asks you to surrender your Free-Will as an acceptable sacrifice to Him, 
and you reply, that it is not reasonable that you should do so ! That if 
He would have you obey Him, He must only ask of you what your 
reason approves ! Then He can only ask you to follow your own incli- 
nations till you find that reason can not save you, and that it is not a sure 
guide, and that you get no better in your heart, because you submit to 
reason, and follow your own will. But, you say, we have the Bible for 
our guide ; and if what we receive in our hearts is any thing different 
from what we find there, it must be error, for the Bible is truth ; and 
then, as the Bible is truth, and all else than it must be error, we may 



80 

well dispense with looking within ourselves for a guide, inasmuch as we 
ought not to follow it. if it does not lead us as the Bible would, and we 
need it not, if it only undertakes to lead as the Bible does ! 

§ 27. Having thus stated your best argument in your strongest presen- 
tation, let us look at your inconsistency again. You ask God to help you 
understand that Book whose teachings are your infallible guide. You ask 
him to help you preach correctly in elucidation, or enforcement of its 
doctrines, or declarations. If now the Bible is your sure guide, would it 
need reason, or revelation, to insure its reception by all, or its being un- 
derstood by those who read it ? Does not its incompleteness become ap- 
parent, when you find it necessary to add so greatly to it, in order that 
it may be understood by the laity ? If incomplete, would not inspiration, 
or revelation, complete, or perfect it better than reason ? And if incom- 
plete, would not prayer to God to help you understand, and to enlighten 
your dark minds, be heard ? And how can He answer you but by inspi- 
ration, or revelation ? If He answers by the latter, would it be too much 
for Him to have some willing man record his revelation, and publish it 
to the world ? By no means. You will, then, admit the iJossibility of 
revelation at the present day ? But, you say, there can be no necessity 
for it 5 or God would have given it before ? God has given it before, and 
the knowledge was lost, as I have told you in the Second Book, First 
Series. Then God caused Moses to publish all he could collect. But 
much of that was lost in the captivities and idolatrous departures of the 
Israelites. Again, by prophets, God made revelations; as much, or more 
than the people could bear ; and that it was so much as that, is proved 
by the fact, that the prophets were generally slain, instead of honored, by 
the ruling powers. Then came the revelations I gave when in the body, 
only a part of which were even recorded in memories of men, and only a 
part of what was remembered was written down in after years, and of 
what was written down, but a small portion has reached the present 
time, and you would persuade yourselves and your brethren, that 
that little is enough for you. In one sense, it is enough ; for you do not 
practice the precepts recorded as mine, and, being unwilling to receive as 
your guide what you have, do not deserve more. But God gives to the 
undeserving. If He did not, none would receive mercy. So, He at this 
time, in mercy and love, reveals to you more through this outward book, 
and He is also ready to reveal to you each and all, inwardly, and specially 
to suit your own case and circumstances. I ask you to listen to this. It 
was this I asked the people to listen to, when I was in the body ; and it 
was because they were so outward as to be unable and unwilling to turn 
to their own internals, that I declared it was expedient that I should 
leave my followers. After my departure they sought and found inspira- 
tion. But soon it was lost by slavish dependence on other men. Since 
then the world has not been in a state to receive another written revela- 
tion with benefit. I have told you that disobedience to God's known will 
is sin ; an unpardonable sin ; and this being so, God has not added to the 
condemnation of mankind by revealing more of His will. Whenever men 
did turn within, with sincere desires for light, they received it : sometimes 
knowingly, and sometimes unconsciously. But because many received 



81 

inspiration without appreciating it, or even being aware of it. though, 
perhaps, they acted on it, you must not suppose God could not cause them 
to distinguish inspiration from reason, or imagination. And revelation is 
a more perfect and distinct declaration than inspiration, or impression. 

§28. Therefore I assure you that there is no difficulty in my medium, 
distinguishing what I give him, from the results of his memory, or reason, 
or imagination. Not only from the results of his will upon these facul- 
ties, but also from what may be called the involuntary action of his mind. 
How he can do it, is not easily explained to those who have not experi- 
enced something analagous to it ; and those who have, ought to believe 
that others can distinguish as easily as they what comes from a foreign 
source, and what originates in themselves ; and they ought further to be- 
lieve that God has power to make some, or all, even more sure than they 
have ever been, by more unmistakable differences, or distinguishing fea- 
tures, that they receive from a Divine source. 

I have already, in previous books, given you much light upon the man- 
ner in which I deliver this revelation to this medium ; and how he can, 
and does, distinguish it from his own mental action. But I propose to 
now declare that he is not liable to any important error,, because I can 
call him back to it should he make one. It is a part of his education and 
training by me for this purpose, that lie has made immaterial discrepan- 
cies, and corrected some of them in the manuscript copies. But these 
manuscript copies are the best evidence how few they are, and of the 
cause being a desire on his part, perhaps unconsciously, or thoughtlessly, 
for communications, or revelation, on some particular point. These 
copies in manuscripts will be preserved as evidence, to those that seek 
such, of the real character of the delivery of these books. 

But I will also explain why I did not, in some other way, deliver this 
revelation, as I promised in the First Book of this Series. I might have 
had it written by a medium whose hand was controlled like Hammond's, 
when he wrote "Light from the Spirit- Worljd," and "The Pilgrimage of 
Paine." But all such mediums are physical, and have been, and may be, 
used by lower spirits. Not that I could not separate such from the influence 
of lower spirits, but that they in general are unwilling to be separated from 
lower spirits, as they are desirous of yielding control to those they have 
known personally, or by reputation, and without regard to their fitness 
for revealing entire, or perfect, truth. I could, perhaps, have trained 
them to a different course. But as I have told you, no man is forced to 
be a medium contrary to his will • though many are selected who have 
not formed a desire for it. But many mediums have declared they did 
not want to be such ! These had times when they desired manifestations, 
and when they were willing to serve God, and yield their own inclination, 
or will, to His. At such times the spirits of lower spheres operated upon 
them, and advanced them in the work appointed for them. These medi- 
ums, though, did not possess all those qualities of mind and position that 
this one did, and I deemed him the best subject that offered a willing 
mind for the reception of truth ; and though, as I have said, a better is 
wanted and may arise, I shall use him as the best at my command at 
present. This is not beeause he is the best, or most perfect, physically ? 



82 ■ 

mentally, or morally; but chiefly because he is the most passive and 
submissive to me. while he is to men the most impassive and uncontrolla- 
ble. He is thus impassive to conviction by argument, or persuasion, of 
men. Some men knowing a thing can be reasoned out of it ; others can 
be persuaded out of it; some yield to one influence, some to another. 
Others are psychologically influenced by other men. This medium has 
never been, and can not be, magnetized, even slightly, by men. He is. 
Therefore, impassive to men, and unsubmissive to them. These qualities 
do not make him a better man, morally, or save him from errors of judg- 
ment, mistakes in argument, or deficiencies of conduct. He may be, with 
them, unpleasing in deportment, and unskilled in art. But they are val- 
uable to him for this work ; and having caused him to be in a social 
position neither too high for usefulness as an humble instrument, nor too 
low for respect, or credit, among men; neither so rich as to be independent 
of the world's frowns, nor so poor as to be unable to command all the 
means of serving me in the publication of what I deliver to him for that 
purpose, I chose and called him ; and though a considerable period .of 
preparation passed away before he was ready for the work, the same 
qualities that were most resistent to my influence and will in the begin- 
ning, are now the safeguards of his convictions, and the maintainers of 
his position as my medium. What next I shall have for him to do, I 
know not; but he will undoubtedly do it. You see that last sentence? 
He wrote it to the end, though he perceived it was contradictory of what 
he believes to be the knowledge possessed by me. This shows his pas- 
siveness and submission. But have T told a lie to make an example of 
that passiveness ? By no means, for I do not know what I shall have him 
do next. He is free-willed, though voluntarily subjecting himself to 
God. So arc other men. What other men may- need, and what he may 
resolve to do, I can not tell. I can, as I have stated, form a judgment, 
founded on my knowledge of all the physical and social influences that 
have affected, and that may affect them ; and knowing the future per- 
fectly, and the present in every ramification, I can tell with small proba- 
bility of error, or mistake. But man is a Free-Agent, and though free- 
agents are accountable, their acts can not be foreseen. They can be 
controlled by Divine Power ; but when controlled by that Power, or any 
other, they cease to be free- agents, and cease to be responsible for the 
acts they then perform. But I can control circumstances so as to cause 
effects, and influence actions of men, as I have said. And these auxilia- 
' ries are not only at my service, but used ; and I am, therefore, most Un- 
likely to err, or mistake, in my conclusion respecting even the course of 
€ ree-willed being, like man. For all that, though, I do not know what I 
will next call on my medium to do ; and I am not obliged to form any 
plan; because whatever I do will be in God's will, and His Will is always 
the result of, or in accordance with, His Perfect Wisdom. 

§ 29. There is yet to be answered the two questions, why I do not de- 
liver this book by spirits of lower circles, writing with outward materials, 
as they have written ; or by myself writing with them, and delivering the 
manuscript complete and perfect into the hands of some man, or body of 



83 

The spirits in lower circles, whose province it has been to use outward 
materials, do not wish to act so, and are not so submissive as to desire to 
serve God entirely. They are less controlled by circumstances than 
men. and freer to act their own wills. The spirits of the second sphere 
act in their own will almost entirely ; though they are restrained by laws, 
unperceived by them, from doing what will harm others, or make them 
more evil. God leaves them to have every wish gratified, till the knowl- 
edge that their own desires, when fully gratified, are enough only to 
satiate and tire them "without giving them happiness, leads them to sub- 
mit more and more to God, as I have described, and to receive more and 
more from His bounty and His mercy, till they progress to the highest 
circle of the Seventh sphere. Then they act entirely and perfectly in 
God's will: and then they may write such a book, in such a way, and 
have it perfect. Till then it would be filled with errors, arising from 
the operation of their own will and imperfect opinions. 

But why I do not write myself in the usual manner, and leave the 
manuscript with this, or some other man, or body of men, ready for the 
printer, is the final and strongest question you can put as an objection to 
this mode of communication. I will answer you conclusively, I think, to 
your reason, as well as to your faith. The answer to faith is simply. 
that it is better thus. To reason, a longer course of argument is neces- 
sary. First, then, should I do so, there would be the same objections to 
its belief that now exist ; for you would, of course, see no miraculous ap- 
pearances in what was prepared after the manner of men. Second, you 
would find what you would think were errors in it then, and search, as 
successfully as now, for discrepancies or contradictions. Lastly, even 
my medium would be suspicious of imposition. For he could not have 
the same positive knowledge that it is not the work of any visibility that 
he now has. His belief in its authenticity would then, if it existed, be 
founded in faith, produced by some other manifestation than the mere 
finding the prepared manuscript. At best, it would only pass with many 
as an imitation of the finding of the Mormon Bible, or Golden Legend. 
But, could I not assume a bodily form, and deliver it to some body of 
men ? for instance, some church assembly, or congress of church or sec- 
tarian delegates ? Would they receive it, think you *? or would they not 
at least a majority of them, treat it as a work of magic, or as a delusion 
of the Arch-Enemy they outwardly believe to exist ■ and thank God that 
their faith was strong enough to withstand even so imposing an effort to 
draw them from the faith of their fathers ? They would most assuredly 
deliver my work to the flames, rather than to the printer, and I should 
be left undeclared to the world as a Savior. For it is in my character 
of Savior of Men that I desire to be viewed. I come to call men to re- 
pentance, to reconciliation with God : and I preach now what I preached 
1800 years ago. that I and my Father are One; and that I do His Will 
and have His Power : and that by His Power all things are possible ; but 
in His Wisdom all Things are not expedient. Now, as then, I declare to 
you that the outward must cease, or disappear, so that you may more 
certainly be led to the inward : and though then I suffered crucifixion, 
when it was perfectly in the power of God to have saved me. and permit- 



84 

ted me to step down from the torturing cross I was doomed to die upon; 
(I say, though, if it had been expedient, it would have been His will that 
I should have done this, and I should have acted in His will), yet I did 
not do it, because it was not expedient. I might have pursued other 
methods to convert men to a belief in my mission and Divine Authority 
then, even as I might take other methods now, if it were God's will ; but 
Oh, Man ! if you have any faith in God, and in the inspiration, or unity, 
of His Son, believe that He and I are having every thing provided for you 
in the really and truly best way ; in the way that will soonest bring you 
all to reconciliation with Him, and to a proper preparation for that Eter- 
nal, Unending, Supernatural Bliss, which He has prepared for you, and 
for all men, who were, or ever will be born, either on this, or any other 
of the innumerable myriads of systems of planets existing now, or here- 
tofore, or hereafter, in any part of the Illimitable Creation, which is 
spread over Infinite space. God is good, and His Mercy endureth for 
ever ! 

Blessed be the name of the Lord God of Hosts ; and all His Sons do 
bless Him, and glorify His Holy Name, as it is, and was, and ever shall be, 
world without end . 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER III. 

The Soul as Separate from Inclosures. 

§30. Let us return to the consideration of the Past, Present, and 
Future, of Man. In Paradise, I have told you he has a body formed by 
the Word, composed of a combination of Individuality and Aura, or Word, 
or Divinity. This combination, I have also informed you, is pervaded by 
Word, or Divinity, which is uncombined with it, and which is, as it were, 
the body, or substance of the Word. It is also pervaded by the Deity, by 
God Himself, whose body, so to speak, pervades not only man and spirits, 
or souls, but also the Word, and every part, parcel, and atom, of all pro- 
cedures and created matter, or combinations of matter. God thus per- 
vades all, without being combined with any; for His procedures are 
uncombined with Him, though they are parts of Him combined (except 
the Word), with created substance, or essence. The Word, as I have 
said, being only an emanation, or procedure, from God. of a part of Him- 
self, endowed with a separate existence, and finite in Its powers and 
perceptions. Finite in reality, and as compared with real Infinity ; but 
Infinite, as compared with other procedures, or any conception that we 
can form of It. Thus, in one sense, and to us. Word is Infinite ; though, 
in fact, and ultimate, there is but One Infinite, who is GOD. 

We have, then, traced the formation of Man, so far as his constituent 
parts are concerned. We have yet to see how much we can declare of 
His formation into body, or shape, in Paradise. The soul, or adam, being 
composed of Divinity and Individuality, and the quantity of the combina- 
tion existing in an Individual being determinate and unchangeable, it is 
reasonable to suppose it has an unchangeable form. But this is not a con- 



85 

sequence of such formation and condition, for the soul exists in an inde- 
terminate form in Paradise. It is capable of expansion and contraction. 
It can make itself more or less dense. It can even stretch itself by at- 
tenuation to the whole boundary of Paradise, or it may be all contained 
in the new-born infant of the smallest size that ever lived. It is by this 
expansion that it traverses Paradise ; and it is by this contraction that it 
enters the earth-body prepared for it. The expansion and contraction 
are both under the control of its will, and are performed with such ra- 
pidity that it may be called instantaneous, though it is not instantaneous. 

^ 31. Let us endeavor to understand the precise limits of Paradise as 
they existed at its establishment, and the same as they exist at the pres- 
ent time in this system. The boundaries of Paradise "were, in the begin- 
ning of its existence, about the surface of the only body existent in what 
is now a solar system. A solar system was then a vast globe of attenu- 
ated gaseous matter, (which has since solidified, as I described in the 
Second Book of the First Series, and, by the process of solidification, be- 
come changed into primary and secondary satellites, revolving about the 
central body, called the sun, or star). Having, then, this globe of earth- 
matter on one side, its thickness, or other boundary, was fixed by the 
wants of the inhabitants of it, allowing them ample range and scope for 
every imaginable enjoyment. This was, perhaps, double the size of the 
central earth, or sun, globe. But, no, you can not receive an idea of its 
size correctly ; suffice it that the sun- globe extended as far as its farthest 
influence now extends, and that Paradise extended over a space as much 
greater as to be illimitable by any measurement of man, though not to 
reach, or join, the Paradise that surrounded an independent sun, or earth- 
globe. Where double suns, or stars, existed, their Paradise was one ; 
and their boundaries of extent conjoined, and do now conjoin or have con- 
tact, by which they roll, as it were, upon the surface of their true extent, 
around each other. The inhabitants of these bodies enjoy, or disregard, 
as the case may be, an apparently confused order of movement of the 
stars and planets visible to them : which, nevertheless, when understood, 
is found to reveal the true relation the suns and planets bear to each 
other, and the real harmony and beauty of their location and arrange- 
ment. Paradise, then, exists, surrounding each sun-system, or double, or 
treble, or quadruple, sun-system, and extending therefrom a vast dis- 
tance into space. Paradise, though, having location and extent and 
limits, must have form and substance. The form I have given as a 
sphere inclosing a sphere. The substance I will also describe. 

§ 32. The substance is the surplus spirit-matter uncombined with it- 
self, or with Aura. It is only mixed with itself. Soul, or adam, has 
the power of combining it in a certain degree and manner, as I have 
stated that od, (under the influence of life which is possessed by Aura 
and Individuality combined, and called soul, or adam), is capable of, or 
rather possesses an affinity with, or for, the other combinations or sub- 
stances of spirit-matter, which I have called magnetie-od and electric-od. 
These two higher, or more refined, elements of spirit-matter, combine in 
various proportions without od, but not permanently. They, too, are 
combined by the influence of Aura, or of soul, but they do not retain the 



86 

organization, or combination, except while the will of the Life maintains it. 
The moment the will ceases to act, the combination dissolves. In Paradise, 
then, the Soul, or Adam, has power by its will to form any combination into 
any shape, or resemblance, it may choose, and by this power it possesses 
whatever it wills to have. For this od-matter is as real in its existence, 
though so attenuated in its substance, as earth, or body-matter. Having, 
then, a form of its own, such as it chooses to have, large or small, round 
or square, tall or short ; in fact, just such a shape as it for the time pleases, 
the Soul has, by its command over od-matter, all its desires gratified. It 
has only the one restriction I have before stated, upon its power of will, and 
that is, that it must not leave its residence. It must not expand itself 
beyond, nor must it, in a contracted shape, leave Paradise. The moment 
it resolves to do this, it begins to partake of the forbidden tree, or fruit, 
called knowledge of Good and Evil. But if the soul does so resolve to 
enjoy that which is forbidden, it does enjoy it; and, as the first step, 
leaves Paradise and enters a body, prepared by the Word for it, formed 
by the Word from earth-matter, and pervaded still by the Word so that 
the Word can communicate with the soul, and reveal to it such intelli- 
gence as is called instinctive, or intuitive as is its true term or signifi- 
cance. This intuition is derived from the Word, who wills thus to add 
to the knowledge the soul possessed in Paradise. 

f 33. But what did the Soul know in Paradise? what kind of intelli- 
gence had it ? It had a mind consequent of, or upon, its possession of a 
portion of Aura combined with its Individuality. The combination pos- 
sessed memory, and the combination possessed what its Aura had before 
its combination. This part of the soul had a knowledge of creation, of 
the acts of the Word previous to its separation from the Word, and of 
the thoughts of God previous to the Word's separation from Him. It 
was thus endowed with high intelligence, and was allowed to use its 
high powers in adding to its store of materials of mental action and re- 
flection by its almost unlimited Power of creation in Paradise. This 
memory, or knowledge, was all lost by its entrance into body of earth. 
But the soul did not know that it would lose this by its departure from 
Paradise. This loss of its memory and consciousness of previous exist- 
ence was the death which was the declared penalty of transgression of 
the bounds of Paradise. 

§ 34. Unconsciousness of the Past is death. In this sense the soul 
never dies after leaving the body. The body dies, because it, like ani- 
mals, loses all consciousness of existence. It is thus that all flesh is 
grass. It is thus that there is one flesh of men and animals, and that 
they all die alike, as is declared in the saying of Solomon, the son of 
David, a text that has puzzled commentators and many sincere inquirers, 
but, thus viewed, is simple and plain. You will find, oh. unbelievers I 
that I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill ; not to pull down, but to 
build up ] and the Bible, that you ignorantly worship, I will declare to 
you. 

§ 35. There is, then, in man a hidden intelligence, or mind, dead for 
the present state of existence, but receiving from the past a life which is 
again visible in the future. 



87 

mind or intelligence with which the soul was endowed at its creation, 
at the time 
dividuality 

entrance into Body, to its arrival in the Seventh Sphere. There its full 
consciousness and memory again exists, and has also added to it a knowl- 
edge or memory of all that second intelligence, that of the Spirit-body, 
possessed. All that the Earthy-body possessed, acquired, or experienced, 
had in like manner accompanied the spirit-intelligence when the earth- 
body and its animal mind or intelligence perished, or separated from the 
spirit, by what is usually called death. Death changes the man from 
earthy to spiritual. Birth changes the man from Divine to earthy. 
The dissolution of the Spiritual-Body changes man again to the Divine 
nature, or perfect soul. He is then united to God, and One with Him ; 
though not One with God in all His attributes, till the soul reaches the 
Seventh circle of the Seventh Sphere. I have called these existences 
spirits, heretofore, but they are not properly spirits, but Sons. The soul, 
then, becomes a Son, and all the spirits in the Seventh Sphere are Sons, 
while those in the Seventh circle of that Sphere may be called Full Sons, 
or Perfect Sons. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PAST AND PRESENT MANIFESTATIONS OF GOd's ACTION BY HIS 
SPIRITS. 



PART FIRST. 

Manifestations of GooVs Action upon Men in the Body now. 

V 36. Shall a man live, then, after death? was of old asked. Now 
this faith is established. Not that the teachings of 1800 years ago suf- 
ficed to establish it, but that the continual effect of what was then 
preached has overcome skepticism. There was, however, a renewal of 
skepticism within the last hundred years, caused by the decline of relig- 
ions faith in God's mercy. The church taught no doctrines satisfactory 
to the soul ; the soul, therefore, longed for something better than the 
church could offer. Leaving the church, it sought not to arrive at truth 
by revelation, but by reason. Reason is a blind guide, and they who 
followed it fell into the ditch of atheism, if they continued under its 
guidance. They at least were led to skepticism, a miry slough, in which 
they lost faith in immortality, and looked for God's revealments of Power, 
rather than of Mercy and Love ; for His indifference, rather than His 
care ; and having thus made themselves as independent lords or gods 
as they could, they were easily induced to trample upon the rights of 



88 

humanity, the love of fellow-men, and the happiness of love of God. 
Thus was the evil spread, thus did it destroy life ; for without love of 
men and of God, the soul of man is dead; that is, separated from God. 
For true death is not dissolution of the body, but the separation of the 
soul from its Fountain, which was, immediately, the Word, and ulti- 
mately God. This skepticism extended itself insensibly into the minds 
of many Avho were unconscious of having invited it, but in whom mis- 
givings and doubts arose in their deep reflections, and wasted their faith . 
Belief in apparitions fell before this skepticism : belief in God's Love and 
care for men, was shaken till it tottered to its fall. But the rappings 
and signs given through various mediums, in various ways, have checked 
the progress of skepticism, and will forever overcome the doubts and dis- 
belief of sincere inquirers. So much has been accomplished by these 
trifling, contradictory, unworthy-of- attention, manifestations. For such 
epithets have been the usually applied ones to them, from the leaders of 
public opinion, whether in, or out, of the sacerdotal order. But though 
these manifestations, being the efforts of Spirits not above the Sixth Cir- 
cle of the Second Sphere, have been contradictory, and the descriptions 
they gave of the future state unreal (because descriptions of unreal things 
are unreal), yet, they present to mankind the experience of individual 
spirits in the next state of existence. 

§ 37. The next phase of manifestation is that of inspiration of the 
spirit of man, his mental intelligence, as distinguished from his bodily 
or animal instinct, or intelligence. This inspiration extends to other 
than religious subjects, when the individual has proved by submission 
his willingness to be governed by it. It is thus that many preachers of 
the Word of God are qualified io preach : and whether they preach orally 
without notes, or with, is no matter, provided they have inspiration ; yet, 
this inspiration is not easily distinguished from reason, and many have re- 
ceived much of it without being aware of it, and even when they deny 
the possibility of its occurrence j for they have earnest desires to be gov- 
erned by God ; and yet, they are unwilling to admit that he can govern 
them by inspiration. God, then, accepts their willingness, and pardons 
the sin, or omission to look for Him in the way He does manifest Him- 
self, as originating in ignorance, and as being a pardonable one. Still, 
it is evident, that the man thus placing his principal dependence on rea- 
son, will often be led astray by it ; and thus be the means of leading 
others away from the true path. God, though, overrules sometimes 
even these errors, so that they are productive of good to others. God is • 
able to overrule even Man's Free-Will, as I have explained : but, as I 
have also explained, He will not do it. So the man is left in his twilight 
state, sometimes brightening, sometimes darkening, till at last he passes 
into the spirit-state, there to continue to waver, as it were, upon the 
verge of light, without perceiving his own blindness to it, till at last, 
finding himself left behind by those who have listened to the inspiration 
as inspiration, he too begins to look upon it as possible that he too has 
been favored with a Holy Communion with the Son of God. For this in- 
spiration thus manifested to the Spirit, or Mind, of the Spirit-Body of 
Man, does not proceed directly from God, but is delivered to Man by the 



S9 

Son of God, who. being sent to him. becomes a Christ to him ; for, as I 
have explained, Christ is, in its signification. Sent of, or from, God. But 
then, if all inspiration be from such a high source, why does not the man 
become more truthful and reliable ; and why do not the different receivers 
of this inspiration agree in their declarations upon spiritual things, and 
upon our duties to each other, and to our God ? Because there is in all, 
a want of dependence upon inspiration, and a leaning upon their own 
wisdom, learning, or experience. But do not some, who believe that in- 
spiration may take place, and that profess to receive it, and to endeavor 
to act in regard to it ; do they not become truthful, and capable of, and 
worthy of. being servants of God, reliable as exponents of our duties to 
Him, and to men ? They do ; by thus submitting to God, and having no 
other desire than to do His Will, they become His faithful servants ; and 
being His faithful servants, they do declare His Will. But they, not 
having faith enough to depart from the landmarks, or bounds, which 
others have instilled into them or placed around them, are not qualified 
to declare the Will of God, except in parts, and for particular occasions. 
The followers of Fox, even, bind their preachers with earthly rules, 
though they profess to have derived those rules from the united voice of 
inspired men. But this is declaring that the fathers are wiser than the 
children, and that God does not manifest Himself as in days of old. The 
preacher is required to submit to the counsel of men, appointed by the 
church, who are not preachers. What is this, but saying, You who 
preach do not speak by inspiration, unless we, who do not speak, are 
also inspired as you are. And yet. every preacher differs somewhat from 
each other, so far as his reason, or earthly mind, overrules the spirit- 
ual reception of the Son of God. How, then, if all preachers by Inspira- 
tion preach more or less error, shall we distinguish the truth from it ; 
and how shall we, or even they themselves, know what is worthy to be 
followed of their recommendations, or what we should refrain from, when 
they tell us to taste not, handle not ? Go yourself to God, and ask Him 
to direct you what to believe; what to do : what to leave undone. For 
He will as readily speak to you, by His Christ, as to any other man. 
But even I may just as easily be mistaken as the preacher, and I may 
thus reject as much, or more, truth, which he had really received, or de- 
livered, as he had ; and be equally liable to take the errors as truth ! 
This is true ; and yet, you will only be accountable for the talents you 
really possessed. That you did not know the law is an excuse for you; 
that you desired to do right is received as if you had done right, as I 
have explained in the First Series. But, then, if I am to be blessed by 
having my motives taken for acts, why need I act ? why should I not 
confine myself to good resolutions ? Because that is impossible. The 
existence of this motive for resolving, and refraining from action, is an 
unpardonable sin ; because it is a sin against knowledge ; as I have before 
shown, you will have to make atonement for it before you can be recon- 
ciled with God. There is, then, inspiration, and much of it, existing 
already in the religious community ; and yet, they reject not only the 
rappings, and the works of lower spirits, but denounce and oppose this 
very work, that I am delivering through this medium, while he, perhaps, 



90 

says, they who denounce are in the outer darkness, which prevents them 
from seeing the spiritual light that shines through his publications ! 
This shall not he so longer than till the medium of inspiration meets 
"with this book. He shall cease to be inspired, or he shall confess that 
this is inspiration ; and not only inspiration, but revelation ; and not only 
revelation, but the Word of God, given to Man as a manifestation of the 
Mercy and Love of a gracious God, who now, as ever, delights to confer 
good gifts upon His children, and to establish His Truth in the minds of 
all earnest seekers for it. 

§ 38. But yet, you will say, there seems an inconsistency in putting 
off the day of the inspired man, or medium, declaring the truth of the 
present revelation till he meets with it. Why should he not rather de- 
clare it by inspiration to be truth when he first hears of it ; or, some wiP 
go further and say, why not cause him to declare that such a book exi. 
and should be sought for ? Because this would require an interference 
with man's Free-will, which God does not choose to make. He, there- 
fore, is patient, and waits till the inspired man meets with the book ; and 
then He impresses the medium to say it is true, and that it ought to be 
so regarded by all ; but then, even, if the man is unwilling to sacrifice 
his reason, or his prejudice, or his tradition, or his sect's landmarks, or 
the control of the sect's rulers over him ; if the man is not willing to take 
counsel of me only, and let the dead bury their dead, and let the earthy 
possess the earth, while he, taking no counsel of man, resolves to obey 
God rather than man, he can not declare it; and, by thus putting to 
shame the revelation he has had, and the witness given to him of its 
truth in his own heart, he sins against God, and crucifies His Son afresh. 
Then shall he be cut off from His communion with God ; then shall he 
cease to have the help of any Son of God, or of any spirit of God, to 
preach, or pray, or do any act or deed, either spiritual, or outward. Thus 
shall my work be established; and, till it be established, thus shall 
the dew of heaven, the inspiration of mankind, or their looked up to 
guides, cease to fall, or appear, and the drought shall be very sore to 
many. But at last, all shall know me, from the least to the greatest, and 
he who shall know me shall know the Father ; for he who hath seen 
me spiritually hath seen the Father spiritually. 

§ 39. So, too, the Rapping, the Writing, the Speaking Mediums, shall 
no longer receive communications from the Spirit- World, till they declare 
the truth respecting this book. They shall cease to be such mediums, 
till they repent and do the first works. The first works will be to declare 
the gospel of Glad Tidings in their communications. Now, many will be 
prepared to receive this as truth ; but as all mediums will at last unite 
in declaring it to be so, at last the uninformed, the unwilling servants, 
the followers of the past traditions and present enthralments, will be in- 
duced to prepare themselves for the reception of knowledge of God. The 
demonstrations that God favors this Revelation will continue for a time 
with those who proclaim its truth, and will then cease, as the miracles, 
which accompanied the proclamation of Glad Tidings by my servants 
1800 years ago, ceased when the gospel had been preached to every na- 
tion, tongue, and people. Many have supposed this command not yet 



91 

fulfilled ; but they err in supposing that it was to he literally understood 
to refer to every nation which existed on the earth at that, or some sub- 
sequent, time. But it was only intended to direct a general preaching of 
the gospel, so that no nation should be supposed to be excluded from the 
rights and privileges of equal enjoyment of it, of equal station in the church 
of God, and of equal claim to the power of prophecy, and communion 
with God. 

$ 40. Having thus stated the causes which will impel men to believe 
this Book to be truth, I will also state what I shall expect of those who 
believe. First, they must, by every exertion they are capable of, under- 
take to become familiar with its contents, and with those of its predeces- 
sors, for none of the latter are intended to supersede the former. The 
First Book is, as it were, the foundation ; the Second, the basement ; the 
Third, the upper stories ; and this Series is, as it were, the covering and 
inclosure of the whole. I shall hereafter furnish it in detail; but you 
need not know how, nor when. It will be in my time, and my time will 
be, as always, God's time. Having made yourself familiar with all 
these books, I shall then expect you to be led by their precepts, seeing 
that their precepts are precisely those that I taught 1800 years ago, and 
being thus in accordance with previous revelation, you are not required to 
discard your former guide (if that guide was the Bible), but to interpret it 
correctly, and be governed by what it teaches when truly understood. 
This. I ask as being your own will, but, then, I also ask it as being my 
will, and the will of my Father who is in Heaven ; for He gives not what 
is useless, or what shall be superseded ; but all He gives is fitted for the 
instruction not only of the generation to whom it is first addressed, but 
for all succeeding times. But yet, the first generation will understand 
less of it than those who succeed : and the first will act upon what they 
receive very differently from after generations, whose acts will also be 
based on the same foundation ; but the revelations afterward made, being 
explanatory, in their nature or effect, of the first, lead the possessors of 
the whole to view the first very differently ; to see new light and meaning 
in it, which meaning, though less outward, is not less evident; and, 
though this inward, or spiritual, sense was not perceived at first, it al- 
ways existed, and the instruction might, by searching and seeking God's 
help, have been available to them. But, unless progress is made, no bet- 
ter understanding can be received : and no progress can be made except by 
submission to God, and to His teachings, through the outward declarations 
of His Inspired servants, prophets, or mediums, as well as listening to the 
voice, the still, small voice within each man. It is worthy of remark, that 
God says to Moses. I will Avrite my law on their hearts, and put it in their 
inward parts ; not that He has done it, or had already done it ; and it is 
too often assumed now that this is universally done ; whereas it is only a 
promise that it will be done, in a contingency to occur. This contingency 
depends on each man's acts, and the man who desires to have God's Law 
within him, must seek to induce God to put it there, and this is easily 
done if the man wills to have it so, desires to receive the law that he may 
obey it ; but if he desires it merely from curiosity to know what God's law 
is. and with a view to test its justice judge of its perfection by his reason, 



92 

or of its truth and power by his experience, or his understanding of the 
Bible, or any other test, he does not obtain his wish. God does not give 
him the condemnation he would thereby experience. He leaves him to 
his own desires, but he does not grant them, where it would thus leave 
him in continual sin and rebellion against God's laws, though he possess- 
ed them so as to know them, but not so as to be desirous to obey them. 
Still, every man does have implanted in his spiritual intelligence a 
sense of right and wrong, called conscience j which is not God's law writ- 
ten on his heart, but a power, or standard, of testing the accordance of his 
actions or intentions, or the supposed actions or intentions of others, by 
the rule, or law, of eternal justice. Now, although education modifies 
this conscience, or tradition transforms it to a blind guide ; yet, after all, 
its heavenly birth is often manifested, and it shines all the brighter for 
the darkness that has just before enveloped it. But there is no repent- 
ance which it enforces, there is no deed that it prevents, unless there is 
also a violation of the law of education, or tradition ; for this conscience 
is so blinded by these circumstances, that it views all things through the 
medium of their colored glasses ; and thus, though judgment is given, 
based on eternal principles of justice and good faith, there is a leaning to 
support former decisions of the same tribunal, or those which we have 
been educated to take for our guide. Having, then, allowed you to see 
that conscience can not lead a man to purity of faith and action, let me 
tell you what it can do. It can lead a man to look within him for a de- 
cision upon his own conduct, and to endeavor to learn how he ought to 
behave under various, or all supposable, circumstances. By this en- 
deavor he secures God's help ; and when it is evident that the man de- 
sires to be governed by the principles of eternal justice and right, he 
receives God's laws as far as he is able to receive them, which is, as far 
as he is willing to obey them. He then has God's law written on his 
heart, and placed in his inward parts. But it is easy to obliterate the 
record; a patient endurance of evil, a long-suffering of deliberate or 
unpremeditated transgression by others of these laws, should be willingly 
found in us, or we shall, like Moses, dash down to the earth and shiver 
into thousands of fragments, that Divine Law which God's finger had 
traced on that tablet which he had prepared and placed in our inward 
hearts, as He is represented to have traced and placed with Moses the 
tablets of stone upon Mount Sinai. If, then, Moses set such an example 
of impatience, can we do better than follow it ? You can do better than 
Moses did, in all things, if you fully obey God, and act always in entire sub- 
mission to Him. For Moses sometimes erred, and you would not be asked 
to be perfect, even as I. am perfect, if it were not possible for you to be so. 
But there is other instruction to be derived from this relation of the 
breaking of the outward tables of God's law, (which Moses did actually 
receive, and break in the sight of His followers, who had witnessed the 
miracles which had released them from Pharaoh's power,) and that is, 
that the tables will be re- written whenever due submission and atonement 
is made for the impatience, or rebellion. Not only will the lost be re-pro- 
duced, but the broken will be restored to its original beauty, and the 
Mercy of God shall be evident to all. 



93 

J 41. The last subject I shall touch upon in this Chapter, is the great 
and final question of, "What shall a man do to be saved ? I replied to this 
in the Second Book of the First Series, and I must once more recall to 
your memory that sermon that Paul preached to his jailer, when he had 
converted him. by showing that he was acting against God in his previ- 
ous manifestation of hostility to His Sent Spirit, Jesus of Nazareth's 
Christ. If you will now look over what was there said in $ 75, of that 
Book, you will better understand this. 

What shall I do to be saved, ought to be the constant inquiry of every 
man who has not received an answer that his heart, his reason, his con- 
science, his all, approves. So long as a misgiving exists, he should ask 
it : so long as any doubt disturbs, or any faith is wanting, let the man 
ask the question. Day and night, morning and evening, it should be 
dwelt upon, and every answer tried by the proper test, to know if it be the 
true one. But from whom shall the answer be expected ? Paul is not, 
and Jesus is not ; at least, they are not visible, or in any way tangible to 
the bodily perceptions ! The answer must come from God if it is to be 
conclusive, because no one but God. the Supreme Judge, and the Ever- 
lasting Father, can tell on what terms you shall be saved. But God does 
not speak to me either ! you say, and how shall my bodily faculties take 
note of His answer if He should ? for, if He speaks in some manner new 
to my experience, how shall I know from what source it comes ? These 
questions, or objections, are all proper. I do not want you to be led 
astray, or to fancy that every loud voice is God's, or every pretender is 
Christ. There is in every man a witness, and that witness is, at first,- his 
conscience : which, though it may be often blind, is yet capable of re- 
ceiving the light of God's regard whenever the man is willing. The 
Free-Will of Man must be sacrificed, then the conscience acts unbiased 
by the man's desire. When the conscience so acts, it conveys its assurance 
to the man with unwonted strength. He appears to recognize in it a 
voice of God. It does speak with God's voice, for a Christ enters the man 
who has sacrificed his Free-Will ; and where Christ is, there is God in 
effect, as well as in reality; for God is everywhere. The next manifest- 
ation will be the inspeaking Word of God, acting upon their hearts, 
placing within them the law of God. This strengthens their conviction 
that they hear God's voice, or that of His authorized Speaker, or Agent, 
or Christ. Christ himself will speak to them when they are ready to 
hear him : when they seek for his advice, or counsel, with a view to obey 
it : not to judge of it, but to unhesitatingly obey it. They will feel that he 
is indeed a Counselor, a Guide, a Prince of Peace; because his words 
will be to them mighty, and their effect happiness, perfect joy. This, 
then, should assure them that they are right thus far ; and being now so 
far reconciled to God, and so far advanced toward the Sonship. as to have 
His Son in them, they can enjoy the Holy Communion with Christ, daily. 
They can continually call upon him, not only when they break the out- 
ward bread by which they live, but when they desire to receive that 
bread which comes down from Heaven, and sustains in spiritual health 
the soul of man. It is this spiritual bread that Paul speaks of when he 
says, that the Rock which furnished the water, which quenched the thirst 



94 

of the Wanderers in the deserts about Sinai, was Christ ; when he says 
to the people of his day, that their fathers ate of th'at manna which was 
Christ. For though these miracles of producing the outward fountain 
of water, and living upon the manna, or bread, which fell from the atmos- 
phere to the earth's surface, did really and truly occur, even as they are 
related to have occurred; yet, there was a spiritual significance which 
was unperceived at the time, but which is to be revealed to you for your 
instruction now • for the miracles are not only intended to benefit those 
who witness their outward performance, but to be instructive to after 
generations who receive the accounts given of them with faith in God, 
and belief of the truth of His servants who recorded, and transmitted to 
them, the wonderful account of the extraordinary manifestation of His 
Love and Power. For miracles are not merely manifestations of Love, 
but are also the demonstrations of Power ; and none are given as mani- 
festations, or demonstrations, only, but as both, and as the benevolent 
acts of a Heavenly Father, who loves His children, and gives them from 
His abundance far more than they can reasonably ask, and far more than 
they can at all appreciate while in this outward habitation. What, then, 
must a man do to be saved ? will still be asked by some who have not 
read attentively, and thoughtfully, and prayerfully, what I have written. 
Again I will answer you more briefly, and then, by a re-perusal, perhaps, 
you will begin to comprehend the deep things of God. First, surrender 
to God your Free- Will ; that is, subject your every desire to a desire to 
serve Him. Let your mind appeal to your conscience when you feel a 
desire to do any act, to know if it be one you can ask God to help you 
do. You can get a correct reply to this from conscience. Not that con- 
science will answer every man alike to the same question ; but for your 
state of progress it will be a proper answer, and a continuance of such 
questioning will rapidly advance you in the knowledge you most need, 
and that is, a knowledge of the fact that there is in man an inspeaking 
voice, which, if listened to, will lead him with more and more certainty 
to the paths of peace, and communion with God's Spirit. Then, Second, 
you will begin to hold communion with God through your internal 
nature and His spirit dwelling within you ; and that communion, if you 
continue passive, perfectly submissive to it, addressing it, not familiarly 
as if you were its equal, much less haughtily as if you were its superior, 
much less dictatorially as if it were your servant, but respectfully, and 
prayerfully, as if it were your God, will be truthful ; and not only truth- 
ful, but it will be distinguished as the Comforter that will lead you into 
all peace. May you seek; for if you seek, you shall find, as surely as if 
you knock it shall be opened for you. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE IV. 

Godh Action upon Spirits, and their Transmission of It to Men. 

§ 42. There is in every man a Soul, an Emanation from God; and a 
Spirit, a consequent of the unity of Aura and Od ; and a Mind, or Intelli- 
gence, consequent upon the unity or combination, of Aura and Magnetism : 



95 

for Magnetism is the predominant quality, or substance, in Earth-matter, 
as Oil is in Spirit-matter, though Od is a base for all Spirit-combinations, 
while Magnetism does not exist in all Earth-combinations, except as it 
pervades them all. But as Od is the controlling element in Spirit-matter, 
so Magnetism is of Earth-matter, and the former is the base of the Spirit- 
iiiTelligence, while the latter is the base of the Earth-intelligence. It is 
Earth-intelligence that is possessed by all animals, in a greater or less 
degree ; and this Earth-mind is no more immortal, or continuous in exist- 
ence, than Earth-body. When the body dies it also dissolves, ceases for- 
ever to act. The Spirit-mind, then, acts upon the Spirit-body, precisely 
as the Earth-mind had acted on the Earth-body. But before the Body 
dies, the Earth-mind conveys to the Spirit-mind all its knowledge, which, 
indeed, is simultaneously acquired by both minds, from the experience of 
the perceptions which are under either' s control. Thus, whatever the 
outward perceptions, the nerves of sensation, take notice of, is conveyed 
first to the Earth-mind, from whence it is imparted to the Spirit-mind. 
Then, also, whatever the Spirit-mind receives from its superior perceptive 
qualities, which are dependent on its comiection with Aura, is in like 
manner conveyed to the Earth-mind. Yet each mind can distinguish the 
sources of its knowledge : and we can, in the body, only distinguish the 
receptions, or workings, of the Spirit-mind, by what is thus imparted to 
the body, or Earth-mind. 

§ 43. It is only when the spirit is disenthralled, that it perceives itself 
to be also a complete man, possessed of body and intelligence, of powers 
of reception and expression. It then perceives that it has been released 
from a bondage, and it soars upward toward that congenial atmosphere, 
which I have informed you is the conglomeration of all the out-of-use 
particles, or combinations re-separated, of spirit-matter, which surrounds 
the outside of the sphere of Paradise, Avhich forms thus the Spirit-sphere : 
which is, like that of Paradise, a hollow globe, or sphere. It is here that 
spirits dwell, and have their mansions of rest. They do not, however, 
remain inactive because they are at rest. They rest from labor, but not 
from action. All action, however, is enjoyment to them, and they do no 
more than they are gratified by doing. Having reached this Sphere, they 
are at liberty to return to Earth as often as they choose to, but they are 
not always allowed to interfere so far with Earth-matter as to make men 
in the body cognizant of their presence, or acts. For when they desire to 
do this, it often happens that it would be inexpedient, or hurtful. But 
when the spirit desires any thing it is gratified, by realizing, to itself, the 
consciousness of its possession. It does not by any means follow that the 
spirit has it because it has desired it, and appeared to itself to have re- 
ceived, or performed it. It is to the spirit as real as if it had ; but to other 
spirits, or beings, and to other substances, it is as if it were not. Thus a 
spirit desiring to appear to a relative, and carry on a conversation with 
that relative, is permitted to have- its wish realized, by supposing itself 
in the presence of the relative, and passing through the same scenes and 
conversation that would ensue if the relative saw the spirit as the spirit 
desired to be seen. Yet, all the time the relative knows not that tho 
spirit is disposed to manifest itself, and is no more conscious that the 



96 

spirit is thus realizing its wish, than if such wish had never been experi- 
enced by the spirit. So, too, a spirit, which had possessed on Earth a favor- 
ite horse, may desire, in the continuation of its earthy habits and likings, to 
enjoy a ride upon that horse. Immediately the horse is ready in the 
Spirit- Sphere for the Spirit to mount ; and the Spirit having, to its own 
sensation, mounted the horse, they proceed to gallop untiringly, over just 
such roads and through just such scenery as the spirit desires should be 
the roads and scenery embraced in the view. But the horse, the roads, the 
scenery, even the whole, has no existence outside of the spirit-body . It is 
a law of the Spirit- Sphere that every thing the spirit desires is possessed 
by it, but it is only in that way. To the spirit it is as real as is any bodily 
experience, or perception; but the horse, the road, the scene, are only 
impressed upon the mind of the spirit as existing as the spirit desired 
them to exist ; while, in reality, and to the perceptions of other and higher 
beings, they have no substance whatever, and no existence out of the 
Spirit desiring them. But they are visible to these higher beings, when 
looking at the spirit desiring them and appearing to itself to have them. 
The high beings see them as a man may see in a mirror what is not the 
reality, but the reflection of a reality. The spirits thus enjoy a varied 
and gratifying experience, without, in any way disturbing others, or the 
relations of others to matter. When the spirit desires to have an assem- 
blage of other spirits about it for any purpose, like social enjoyment, like 
leading an army, debating in a parliament, or ruling a church, or other 
body of men, it, to every perception of itself, has them ; and for as long a 
time as it pleases the scene continues, and the illusion is perfect. But 
whenever the spirit is ready to dismiss them, and desires to sleep, to 
view another scene, or perform some other act, the former one, in a natu- 
ral manner, so that the illusion is not dispelled, passes away, and what 
is desired by the spirit again appears to it to occur. Spirits, then, have 
no real experience, all is unreal. They act, but produce no effects upon 
matter, or upon other spirits. They enjoy what they prefer, or wish for, 
but they do not disturb others. 

§ 44. How, then, do spirits manifest themselves by rapping, or other 
demonstrations, that we in the body observe ? By having progressed from 
their state of acting merely in their own wills, to having a desire to do 
good. Having formed this desire, they progress and arrive at such a circle 
as qualifies them for action. Then, assisted by higher spirits, they pro- 
duce real effects. But is it not declared in the Second and Third Books 
of the First Series, that low spirits having most of the Earth-connections 
upon them, more often appear to men than higher ones j and that even the 
First and Second, circle spirits have thus appeared ? This is so. for that 
depends on another rule, or law, which is, that spirits of low circles, 
having desires to benefit mankind, are permitted sometimes to manifest 
themselves, and having so performed acts worthy of acceptance, they pro- 
gress to a higher circle, by deserving the reward of, Well done, good and 
faithful servant, thou hast done well in this very little matter, and thou 
shalt now have one greater to attend to. But do spirits in these lowest 
circles then, do good works ? or are good works commenced in the Sixth 
circle ? The Sixth circle is the circle of good works, and there are spirits 



97 

generally and actively employed in endeavoring to benefit others. But 
the lower ones sometimes have unselfish desires, and most unselfish desires 
are the result of good motives, and good motives are the means of progress, 
both in the body and in the spirit, The lowest circle can only become 
reconciled to God in a sufficient degree to advance to the next, by having 
an unselfish desire, by having a desire to serve God. It is this desire to 
be obedient and reconciled to Him, which leads to advancement ; and it 
is this desire which enables the eartlwnatter of the low spirit's desires to 
be visible, or apparently visible, to the man in the body. Thus, we will 
suppose a man has been murdered; he desires to reveal his murderer's 
name to some friend. He appears, as he supposes, to that friend, and the 
friend, instead of listening patiently and quietly to whatever the spirit 
has to communicate, begins either to repel the spirit by his fears, or to 
drive away his apparition by questions, The spirit, unable to act in its 
own will, becomes a medium of another's will, and the man desiring, per- 
haps, to take advantage of the opportunity for gaining hidden knowledge 
of unlawful things, receives answers according to the folly of his ques- 
tions. Again, the man remains quiet, composed, passive, and the spirit 
imparts its desire, or will, which is, perhaps, the declaration of the name 
of the murderer, and the circumstances attending the commission of the 
crime. But is this a good work, and a work impelled by a good motive? 
It may be. and is sometimes. But generally, this kind of desire is -not 
allowed to manifest itself, because it is not from a good source, but is 
much more often the result of revengeful feelings, and revenge belongs to 
the First circle of the Second sphere. Still, when the spirit desires to 
appear to the man, because the man desires to have an explanation of this 
occurrence, or because the spirit desires to relieve the mind of the sur- 
vivor merely, without desiring to be revenged upon the murderer, then 
the double desires united have the power of manifestation outwardly, or 
earthily. The man beholds, because the spirit wills to appear to him ; 
and the spirit appears to the man, because the man desires to see it, or 
hear it, as the case may be. The double or united will of the two in- 
duces the Word, or Aura, to confirm their desire, where no evil conse- 
quence is apprehensible. This is not yet clear to you. I will take a sim- 
pler instance, and explain by it the origin of the Rappings in Western New 
York, which were the introduction of the great abundance of manifesta- 
tions at present existing. 

§ 45. The family who first heard these sounds were fearless of spirits 
by possessing moral as well as physical courage. The spirit which first 
communicated was that of a murdered man. He desired to make known 
his death and its circumstances, that his friends might be benefited by the 
recovery of his property, which, by his death was in danger of being ap- 
propriated by others, in whose hands it had been left. But finding them 
unwilling to receive information by apparition, the spirit of the murdered 
man became desirous of enlightening them on the subject of spirit-exist- 
ence ; and the family having a desire to possess, or acquire, knowledge of 
the future state, or of existence after death, the two wills became so 
united as to act in unison, and the sounds, desired by the spirit to be made, 
were heard by those who desired knowledge which those sounds were 

7 



98 

intended to convey. But the sounds were heard by those who desired also 
to refute their existence ! Yes, but they were still made by union of the 
two wills of the spirit and one, or more, of the family. The spirit, pleased 
with his success, informed them who he was ; but, actuated by a purer 
motive than revenge, or hate, he did not. after all, give his real name, or 
the circumstances of his death correctly, for doing so would have led to 
dissension, and revengeful manifestations. Doing so, would have retarded, 
rather than advanced, the cause of progress, which uoav was superin- 
tended by higher spirits, and allowed and encouraged as a means of intro- 
ducing the knowledge of truth to mankind. But was not this movement, 
then, directed by you, yourself, as being a means of the establishment of 
your kingdom on earth ? It was. as I stated, a procedure from me, but 
it was not carried forward by forcing the will of any spirit, but by allow- 
ing the desires of some spirits to be fulfilled. It was thus that this spirit 
commenced the manifestations, in such a place, and with such men as 
would not repel them : and it was thus that spirits more advanced than 
the first one, Avere permitted to join in the good work of improving the 
knowledge of mankind in matters connected with the future state of exist- 
ence. Such as men were prepared to receive, they did receive : but the 
spirits gave only what they possessed/and that was a very limited knowl- 
edge, a mere transcript of their own experience in the spirit-world ; ex- 
cept in a few instances, where having been taught higher truths they 
were able to declare them faintly and imperfectly, and clouded by their 
own darkness, to mankind who desired the information and made the 
effort to obtain it thus. Having so led them to receive, the proceeding ad- 
vanced to higher and higher manifestations, such as rapping first by the 
alphabet, then by writing by spirits, then by writing through men, then 
by speaking through men, then by delivering through men the thoughts 
of spirits. It is by this last kind of delivery that R. P. Ambler and 
others write their communications from the Spirit-World, and it is true, 
as they declare it to be, that it proceeds from the spirits of the Sixth 
circle of the Second Sphere. But while they relate their experience, and 
give utterance to their hopes, it must be remembered, that they know 
little compared with! higher spirits, and that they are as liable to be mis- 
taken in the inferences they draw from what they do know, or have been 
impressed with from higher spirits, as men are. But do not spirits of 
circles somewhat higher act also in promoting the progress of the pro- 
cedure, thus intended to benefit mankind and bring in the glorious reign 
of Christ on earth ! They do ; but they act, in general, by influencing 
spirits of the Sixth circle to act, and by restraining and controlling the 
1 ower spirits that men are continually calling upon in relation to them- 
selves and their temporal affairs, their memories, their affections, and 
their hopes. They also suppose that such spirits can declare to them 
more than higher ones, of what has passed in the experience of the low 
spirits, or in their own. But they are wrong in believing that higher 
spirits can not know all that lower ones do ; though higher spirits, being 
engaged in higher duties, can not be supposed willing to waste their 
greater powers on such performances, or duties, as lower ones can as well 
render. 






99 

$ 46. They, however, assume the places of lower spirits often, in thus 
answering the calls for information beyond the power, or knowledge, of 
the spirit called on. Some men will think this a deception, and be dis- 
posed to blame spirits for thus doing another's work. But let us see 
how they judge men who have, when actuated by the purest motives, 
given benefits to others in the name of some relative ! The world, then, 
praises their disinterestedness and their pure benevolence : and looks, not 
so much at the process, as the result. The process is not properly called 
deception, as it is gratifying the subject acted upon; and the error, if any, 
is the error of the subject in thus desiring to receive the good in a particu- 
lar manner. How. then, is it when men have desired communications 
from higher spirits, such as the apostles and others ; and spirits have 
desired to personate them, but been unable to withstand the tests applied 
to manifest their truth, or falsity ! The pretended apostles, or spirits of 
other distinguished men, were really the spirits of lower circles, who, 
finding a man. or a medium, actuated by desires of notoriety, have acted 
in their own desire to be great in name, and famous in deeds, and as- 
sumed such names as they perceived their medium, or questioner, desired 
to have declared to them. In thus acting, they deceived, you say, and 
the deception was not a benevolent one, you think. It was, in reality, a 
disturbing one. which lessened your faith in the worthiness of the com- 
munications in general, and caused you to distrust all that you received, or 
heard of others having received- Then, it was a benevolent effect, at 
least ; though the motive of the spirit making the communication was no 
better than yours in asking it. The effect was to cause you to place less 
confidence in the outward, and thus prepare you to hear the inward. It 
was because you desired a communication in a particular manner, instead 
of leaving it all to a higher power, and more perfect wisdom, to determine 
what the time, manner, and form, should be. In a word, it was because 
you were not passive, and because you could not be persuaded to be pas- 
sive but by finding the inutility of all attempts to use spirits as your 
servants, when the true work, that the procedure was intended to secure 
the performance of, was the submission of your heart, or Free-Will, to 
God ; by which you should become His servant, and do whatever work He 
should, through His High Spirits, call you to. But were not some of these 
assumptions of names, venerated by men, assumed when the inquirer and 
the medium were both willing the truth ? They were not. The medium 
was sometimes in fault, but more often the questioner. The questioner 
generally desired a communication, not in accordance simply with truth, 
from the venerated personages, but in confirmation of his own views. 
And, in general, the test itself had reference to this same desire ■ and find- 
ing that a spirit, calling itself an apostle, did not say what the questioner 
understood to be the meaning of his recorded expressions, as contained in 
the Bible, the spirit was declared an impostor, a liar, or even some worse 
epithet, or character, was deemed proper to be applied. Then, even when 
a high spirit was revealing truth, the doubt, and distrust, and contradic- 
tions, of the receiver, or questioner, would force that spirit to relinquish 
the attempt, and allow the questioner to suppose that he had detected a de- 
ception, or attempt to deceive, while he had really only rejected revelation. 



100 

§ 47. But how, then, can we know what spirit converses with us, or 
communicates with us ? By being passive, and receiving with faith what 
is given; and by asking God to give you such knowledge, in His own 
way, and time, and manner. This is every man's duty; and the commu- 
nications you may then obtain will be reliable ; and not only reliable, but 
if you act upon them, and follow the course you are then directed to pur- 
sue, you will be blessed by such an increase of knowledge, that you will 
find you need not ask questions, or raise objections, or entertain doubts. 
Be passive, and you will necessarily be patient : be watchful, and your city 
will not be taken by the enemy of God, which is your own "Will ; be attentive, 
and you will be a medium yourself, and hear within your own spiritual 
mind, which will transmit to your own commonly used intelligence, the 
communications of God's "Will, made by His Sons to you. Those Sons act 
in His Will, and have, therefore, His power to act. But those Sons do 
not force your Free-Will any more than God does, and could not, if they 
desired to ; but they can use you, if you submit to them, or to God, and 
give you such spiritual knowledge as will make you enjoy that peace 
which the world can not give, neither can it take it away. Oh, Reader ! 
how great is this bliss ! Pray that you may arrive* at it. Pray that God 
will, in His own way, help you to understand His Will and do it as your 
own. Pray that God's will may be done in you, as it is in His High and 
Holy Perfect Sons ; and that you, acting always in His Will, may at last 
be raised to the power, honor, and glory of being regarded as His servant, 
worthy to be placed on His right hand, and thereby be found to be acting 
in God's Will, and Power, and Authority. Amen. 



chapter v. 



THE WILL OF GOD RESPECTING FUTURE MANIFESTATIONS. 



PART FIRST. 

The Manifestations of God in Man to take place. 

§ 48. When I have thus secured you as a medium, my kingdom will 
be established in you ; and when I have thus secured every man in this 
country, my kingdom will be eternal and everlasting. It will be the 
kingdom of the Fifth Monarchy, whose Power shall never end. But I 
have declared that the foundation of this kingdom is already laid, and 
that other foundation can no man lay than is laid, and the kingdom is 
already established ! The kingdom exists, because some hearts have 
submitted in part, at least ; and is established, because nothing can occur 
to prevent its successful progress till all shall be its subjects, from the 
-least to the greatest. 



101 

§ 49. This kingdom will be an earthly kingdom, as well as a spiritual 
one : an external, as well as an internal one. It will be a kingdom similar 
to the Jewish kingdom in the time of the Judges, except that outward 
sacrifices will not be required of its subjects, and they will probably be 
less fitful and inconstant in their regard for the voice of God, declared 
through mediums. Further than that, this people will learn to know me 
in their hearts, which the Jews never, as a people, did. They were out- 
ward entirely in their views, and looked upon their God merely as a su- 
perior god to those of heathen nations, at the best view ; and at times 
were disposed to trust in the gods of Egypt, or the forms of Assyria, 
rather than in the One True and Living God, and the ceremonies of the 
Mosaic ritual. The ceremonies were of no consequence, except that they 
were significant of the internal devotion and submission that was required 
of the hearts of men ; but the acknowledgment of God was, in their case, 
indispensable, as a condition of His favor. Other nations who had not 
the evidence that they had, might gradually go astray, and lose the 
knowledge of the Divinity within and over them ; the Jews must not find 
an excuse in that. To their fathers, and at various intervals to them- 
selves, were vouchsafed miracles and signs of God ; s will, and confirma 
tions of the truths of the Pentateuch; and when the nation, or the 
greater part of them, apostatized from the religious institutions they had 
been trained to acknowledge as Divine, they invariably received the 
chastisements of a Merciful God, who thus admonished and corrected 
them, and led them back by trials and dispensations to their only True 
Trust, their real Safeguard, their own King. Thus were they alternately 
worshipers of God and of Baal : hangers-on upon Assyria, or Egypt ; 
subjected to Philistine rule and oppression, or carrying desolation to 
Edom and Phenicia. When God was worshiped, they were preserved 
from serious evils ; when idolatry prevailed, they were subjected. When 
they were lukewarm and buried in traditions, the Messiah came and 
warned them of their impending fate : When, said he, you shall see Jeru- 
salem encompassed by armies, then flee ; let him that is on the housetop 
not go down, by any but the most direct way ; let him that is in the field 
flee, without going first to his house. Who were saved in that day of 
tribulation w T hich came upon all flesh ? Who, but his followers who 
believed his sayings, and kept a faithful watch for the time to flee, which 
he had thus declared should come, and be so imminent as to require such 
precipitation. Those who fled from the city, as he had enjoined upon his 
followers to do, were saved outwardly from death and from slavery, or 
the horrors of a painful siege. Those, on the other hand, who rushed to 
the Temple and repeated the outward performance of the Mosaic ritual ; 
those who gathered from the other cities and villages of the land, hoping 
that in that Holy Jerusalem, where God had so visibly maintained His 
Power, they should be saved with His sure salvation, were disappointed. 
The beleaguered city and its magnificent temple, the men, women, and 
children, all suffered destruction, and God only aided them to die. Happy 
were they who died early, before long suffering led many to blaspheme. 
Happy were they, who, faithful unto death, still trusted in God, believing 
that He could save if He would, and that He would if He pleased, and 



102 

that He would be pleased to if He could know that it would be for the 
best. Martyrs earned their crowns within that beleaguered city. So, too, 
those who fled were saved by an everlasting salvation, if they continued 
faithful to the witness within their hearts, and endeavored always to per- 
ceive the times of God's comings in Power, and distinguish the dispensa- 
tions of His Love and regard. For them, too, was laid up, for each, a 
crown of glory, Eternal in the Heavens. 

§ 50. Such was the end of God's kingdom of Judea, or Israel. Such 
was the result of faithful obedience, and of slavish submission to earthly 
circumstances. They who trusted to the sword perished by it. They 
who sought deliverance from God in the way He had pointed out. were 
saved. They who trusted to a broken reed were pierced by it. And how 
shall it be now in Christ's kingdom? My kingdom shall stand, because 
I will take measures to make it known and manifest that I am its Head ; 
and that I will give to ray subjects peace. Nation shall not prevail upon 
them to fight for me. nor to be engaged in strife because of me. No one 
shall make them afraid, but they shall dwell in peace and security, every 
man under a vine, or a tree, of his own planting, in his own heart. This 
shall bring him peace so long as he dwells in its shadow, but when he 
goes forth to inquire what his neighbor is doing, and whether his neigh- 
bor's shade is as good as his own, he shall suffer want of God's visible 
help. Be. then, desirous to plant the vine, and to water and train it in 
accordance with the directions I have given you ; so shall you prosper 
and be preserved from death, and your days shall be long in the pleasant 
land. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER Y. 
Harmony that ivill Result from Apparent Confusion. 

SECTION FIRST OF PART SECOND OF CHAPTER V. 

How the Rule of Christ will be Established in America. 

§ 51. When my kingdom is established in each man's heart, and my 
servants are thereby submissive to God, and to me, I shall be the director 
of each man individually, and. therefore, collectively. For if all are 
governed individually by me. my directions being obeyed by each, will 
cause perfect harmony of design to be established and maintained. Then 
all being guided by one, and that one being acknowledged as guide by all, 
the whole will be directed by me as easily as one ; and one heart and 
mind will govern all the inhabitants of the land. But is it to be expected 
that all will literally acknowledge and obey me individually: or will 
not a general obedience be first secured by the great majority, or the 
leaders, having submitted themselves to me, so as to be fit rulers for 
others ? The time may never come on the Earth when all will, each for 
himself, acknowledge me to be King of Kings, but it will come in the 
Spirit- sphere. Here on earth I shall reign as the general Lord of all : 
as the Prince of Peace to those who willingly submit to my government ; 
and by raising up such mediums as I may find expedient to declare my 



103 

will, and to establish the course of the nation. For the time will come, 
when one faith will cause all to regard with reverence the declarations 
of my chosen servants, who shall he selected to declare my will, and 
make known what I would have the collective mass perform. 

Ler all. then, pray that this glorious day may arrive, when the people 
of the United States shall have such reliance upon God. and His govern- 
ment, as to be willing to be ruled by His Son ) and such faith in His 
Power, as to believe He can make known His will to them through 
chosen mediums, or prophets. This will be the beginning of Christ's 
reign on Earth, for I must take the Government on my shoulders, and be 
the King of a nation outwardly, before they are fully submissive to my 
will, even as I take the government of a heart not fully submissive to me, 
and bring it. by aid thus rendered, to full submission ; while, if I were to 
wait for the entire submission, the heart would return to its former idols, 
and subject itself more abjectly than before, to them. Having thus in- 
formed you what you ought to pray for, hope for, look for, I will also tell 
you what the time will be. 

§ 52. It will be a time of trouble, a time of doubt, and of uncertainty, 
when I shall really begin to direct the affairs of this kingdom, or nation. 
I influence them now. but then I shall govern. I can now declare what 
shall be. but then I will declare it. T can now produce what I desire to, 
but then I will do it. I can now raise to power whom I will, but then I 
will raise my servants who will do my will. This time of trouble that 
will seem to threaten the very existence, as a nation, of this people, is not 
far distant; audits coming is to be preceded by signs and wonders. Its 
coming will not be unexpected by my believers, my subjects, but will be 
one of the signs reserved to convert the hard-hearted sectarian, the deep- 
drinking politician, who is drowned, as it were, in outward existence, 
having no time to attend to the inward thirst of the soul for the things of 
God. Long shall all these hope for a better change before they are will- 
ing to look for it where only it can proceed from. But, being at last 
willing to be saved even by me. they will let me try to save those who 
no longer hope for salvation through any other name. Then will my 
servants give vigor and strength to the faint-hearted, and power to the 
weak, and deliverance to all. Then will the glorious scepter of the King 
of Kings be wielded for Him. by His servant as President ; and the medi- 
ums throughout the land will unite in declaring him to be the approved 
son of men. by whom the Lord of Glory reveals His will. But will not 
this enable him to make himself absolute, and subvert the Constitution 
and Laws, placing instead thereof his own will, and maintaining his 
power by force, after having thus obtained it under my influence ? He 
might of himself desire to do so, for he will be a Tree Agent, and can 
only keep in the path of duty by constant submission to me. The very 
first departure, though, from my decrees will be followed by the denun- 
ciations of every medium in the land who still follows me submissively. 
But may not all the mediums join in a general conspiracy to destroy 
liberty and to elevate one man to power ? Oh. ye of little faith ! The 
mediums will be each and all who have submitted themselves to me; 
they will be the people themselves, and they, being led and guided by 



104 

me, -will not all depart from faith in me at once. So you shall he "warn- 
ed, and without my help he shall he powerless ; with my help he shall 
rule with wisdom, and power, and justice, not against all law and con- 
stitution, hut in fulfillment of all laws, human and divine. For in 
him will I he manifest, and by him will / rule. Here, then, we will 
pause, and declare the signs of his selection for his position of ruler. He 
shall be declared by each medium to be the man selected to deliver the 
people from the misfortunes that have then appeared about to overwhelm 
them in ruin. His name shall be given forth on one and the same day 
from East to West, and from North to South, by each servant of mine, 
who has so submitted to me as to have received communication by inspi- 
ration, or by revelation. Having been thus simultaneously declared to 
be the ruler selected by me for relief of the nation in its emergency, he 
shall assume the power by general consent, and shall deliver the nation 
from all its perils and fears in a short time, and thereby the faith of all 
shall be increased, and my authority better established. Then the con- 
tinued prosperity of the nation may cause it to forget to whom it is 
owing • but. if they forget, my chastisement shall awaken them to their 
duty, and lead them again to submission. 

$ 53. How shall we know that some pretender will not arise who 
will presume himself to be thus nominated, and be, indeed, but a seeker 
for power in his own will '? You shall know by the sign I have declared, 
which it will be impossible for any worldly power or intrigue to counter- 
feit. I know that many mediums have declared that this or that man 
shall be the next President, and that these announcements, though made 
sincerely, and in accordance with communications actually received from 
spirits, are nevertheless ignorantly procured and made ; for the medium 
who desires answers to his questions to be in his own will, or to be grati- 
fying to him, will be answered by some spirit desirous to afford him 
pleasure. But the diversity of such announcements prevents them from 
deceiving any other than the questioner himself, who is deceived beeause 
he desires to be, and who will not be undeceived, because he does not 
wish to be enlightened, but found right. When all unite in one declara- 
tion, it will be because all have desired to know the truth, and to know 
it for its own sake, and that they may act upon it. But, then, is he to 
assume the Presidency by a mere nomination, by a sort of acclamation, 
or will he reach it by the forms and processes required by it and by law ? 
He will be duly elected. God works by law and order, and He does not 
subvert, but maintain governments. God'*s servants will always be sub- 
missive to the powers that be : for these powers are ordained of Him. 
Fear not, then, and let no one of my servants be cast down, because mis- 
fortunes come upon this favored land. They will be the precursors of 
that glorious day which has already dawned, which has been prophesied 
of for thousands of years, and hoped for. and longed for, by many in past 
ages, who shall, indeed, see it, but not with the bodily perceptions of the 
earthy form, but with spiritual eyes of faith and love, from their homes 
in the Spirit- Sphere. 



105 

SECTION SECOND OF PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER V. 

My Medium s Position and State at Present. 

$ 54. This medium having been passive under the infliction of writing 
what he did not understand, or perceive to be in accordance with reason, 
or previous revelation, has merited praise. When he commenced writing 
my revelation, he would have rebelled if I had called on him for such 
writing. For he can not help regarding what he writes with conscious- 
ness, and weighing it by reason and his own opinions as he receives and 
records it. It is this which is to him difficult, and in this lies his submis- 
sion. Herein is great faith required. He has his desire to be useful, and 
feels willing to be useful in any way I select for him. This way, indeed, 
is not at all of his choosing, nor such as he expected. Each book he has 
supposed would be the last, till the next was announced in what was 
written in the preceding one to it. Yet, having put his hand to the 
plow he does not draw back because field after field opens to his view. 
But when I ask him to plow so as to apparently endanger the productive- 
ness of the field, or even so as to appear to endanger the overthrow — or 
obliteration (by contradiction) of failure — of the result of the previously 
performed work, he having believed that work good, and of Divine au- 
thority and gift, is certainly tested severely. And only perfect passive- 
ness could, unmoved, receive such, without at least misgiving ; and only a 
near approach to perfect passiveness could receive at all, without rebel- 
lion, the apparently destructive revelation I have thus given. He writes 
now in the belief that if he ought to be overthrown he will be ; that if 
God designs to declare untruth for a trial to man, He will do so ; and 
that his duty is to do whatever God requires of him, regardless of conse- 
quences to himself or to others ; because he feels entire confidence in 
God's omniscience and omnipresence. God, therefore, knows what he 
does, and why he does it. God knowing he does it from these motives, 
and at least under the influence of a power superior to his own, will in- 
terfere in His own good time if it be not in entire accordance with His 
will: and if it be in accordance with God's will he is satisfied. So, 
being thus doubly armed, First, by the full belief that the Spirit declaring 
to him the words of this Book and those preceding it, is, as it pretends to 
be, a High and Holy Spirit, he believes it impossible that the Spirit so 
High and Holy can deceive ; and that Spirit declaring continually that 
what he delivers is God's will, and that he is in unity with God, there is 
no possibility for such a Spirit to be mistaken ; and its deception being 
thus negatived, he is willing to be guided by it in all patience and sub- 
mission, and perfect passiveness ; not, however, neglecting daily, and 
many times daily, specially, and in effect continually, to ask of God His 
guidance and counsel, and establishment in the true path by God's Power, 
and preservation from error, or from the dissemination of error. Second. 
he relies upon God as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, declared in the 
Bible, by the most certainly authorized medium of revelation the world 
has ever known, to be a kind and affectionate Father, listening to the 
prayers of His children, giving them bread when they ask for it, and not 
stones in its place ; giving them good gifts, and not destroying them by His 



106 

dispensations, but reproving and reclaiming them by them; giving them 
the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for sorrow; giving 
them mercy when they deserve condemnation, and having no pleasure in 
their destruction, or death, or any misfortune that they may be afflicted 
with ; having full faith that this God and Father, Almighty in Power, 
cares for the lilies of the valley, and the sparrow that falls to the ground, 
he believes God would not let him go on in a long course of error, in the 
belief that by that course he was doing God service, if that were really 
disservice. Therefore, having confidence in God's love, and power, and 
knowledge, and having no desire to do other than God's will, having no 
hope of profit, except from doing God's will, he is willing to be led and 
guided, as he has been, and to write whatever is given to him without the 
least desire to change it, to suit either what has been written, or what he 
has believed, or what he does believe ; which last is just what he t 
gather as the sense of what he receives and writes. Having, *hen, this 
confidence, he is willing to write what contradicts itself, or what contra- 
dicts his previous writing, if he is only sure it comes from the same 
source, that is, from an intelligence foreign to his own, invisible to him, 
but plainly declared internally to his perceptions of mental sound, in 
words, and with even a species of intonation by which its sense is render- 
ed to him more evident, and he is enabled, in general, to divide the sen- 
tences, and arrange the paragraphs, without further instruction. Having 
thus once more given you the result of my medium's cogitations about 
himself, his duties to me, to you, and to God, I will proceed with my de- 
tails of the Spirit-World, leaving the preceding part of this Chapter to 
stand as a puzzler and wonder-exciter, till I am ready to explain further 
what I mean, and what I require of you in relation to it. 



CHAPTER YI. 



POSITION AND PROGRESS OF SPIRITS. 



PART FIRST. 

Divisions in Paradise and the Sjpirit- World. 

§ 55. Having informed you where the Spirit-Sphere is, and how it is 
composed, I will proceed to declare somewhat of its laws and regulations, 
and manner and degrees of progress, which take place within it, and the 
modes by which its inhabitants manifest themselves to each other, and to 
mankind who are in the Earthy-body. 

The Spirit-Sphere is a world by itself; and, as I have declared, it is 
bounded on the one side by Paradise, and on the other has only Aura un- 
combined with spirit-matter. The spirits below the Fourth sphere can 



107 

only go to this extent, having no power, or will, that can influence Aura, 
but those of the Fourth and higher spheres can, in their own wills, sub- 
missively to God's will, act upon Aura uncombincd. so as to traverse it; 
by which power, or capacity, they can reach other systems, and even, in 
due time, other Universes, Ccclums, etc. The spirits, even of the Second 
sphere, possess the power to reach any planet of their own system, because 
Magnetic-Od pervades Paradise and all space inside of the outer boundary 
of the Spirit-sphere. It is by their power over magnetic- od, which is 
theirs by virtue of Life, or Intelligence, acting upon Od, and by, and 
through, Od acting upon Magnetic-Od, that spirits of these two lower 
spheres traverse their own especial home, or return to their former asso- 
ciations. With Paradise they can have no communication, because Para- 
dise is of a different substance, upon which Od can no more act, than 
Earth-matter can act upon Spirit-matter. Neither can the Intelligences, 
or Souls, in Paradise act upon the material of the spirit-world, any more 
than upon earth-matter, without leaving Paradise j and as they can only 
leave Paradise by consenting, or desiring, to partake of the Tree of Knowl- 
edge of Good and Evil, that desire always takes them in one direction, by 
which they enter the infant-Body. They traverse the space between 
Paradise and that body, for which they are prepared, and which is also 
equally prepared for them, by their influence upon Aura, with which, 
as I have stated, they are combined. But, though Aura also 'extends 
outward, they can not go that way, because the law of their existence 
requires an affinity to be possessed by them for earth-matter, and they 
are attracted by it whenever they cast themselves upon Aura for its 
power to transmit them to the new scene of their future experience. It is 
this law which impels them always to enter such body as is prepared for 
them ; and as infants are being momentarily born, if not on this globe, on 
others in this system, to any of which the souls might go, it must be 
either a matter of chance where each soul goes, or there must be divisions 
and classes in Paradise, by which the souls are separated and directed to 
their proper planet, and particular body. That this is so, and how it is, I 
shall first explain, and then show how this same classification continues 
in the Spirit- Sphere, or world. 

§ 56. When all the souls of all men, who were ever to be born upon 
any of the earths, or globes, of this and other solar systems in this cre- 
ation were placed in Paradise, they dispersed themselves into different 
positions by affinities of which they were unconscious, but which caused 
those of greater or less perfection to be associated in different circles, or 
associations. But are not all equally perfect or imperfect? and were 
they not all as they were intended to be ? They were all as they were 
intended to be, but yet they were not all equally formed, and the differ- 
ence in their formation is best expressed to men by calling them imperfect, 
or less perfect. The difference, however, was a radical one, by the com- 
bination of Aura, or Word, with Individuality, forming Mind, or Intelli- 
gence, or Soul, by different, though definite proportions. Thus those who 
were designed for the outermost planets possessed more Aura and less 
Individuality in their combination, or whole, than those who were pre- 

red for the innermost ones. It is thus that they would naturally pos- 



108 

sess affinities, each for such spirits, or souls, as were of the same definite 
combination as themselves, and they would thus naturally arrange them- 
selves in circles, or associations, under this law, by which they would 
more generally associate and combine ; though this would not prevent an 
interchange of relationship equivalent to amicable relations with the 
adams of other planets. But adams ^ is properly the term for the souls of 
this Earth-globe, while there are other distinguishing names, or titles, for 
those of the other planets, or moons. Hereafter, I shall so confine the sig- 
nification of the term adams. Having, then, so far separated into classes, 
there was another law of affinity developed, by which the quality, or 
combination, of earth-matter varies in each planet from the others, and 
from the central body, or sun, and this variation proceeds in regular pro- 
gression, from the outer to the inner planet, and to the central body, and 
the result is as many different kinds of earth-matter as there are of souls, 
and each of these classes possessing its respective affinity for its corre- 
sponding class in the soul, or in the earth-matter, their arrival at their 
proper combination was secured. But the Word has the superintendence 
of the particular placing of the souls ; or to take the earth's souls, or 
adams, as an example, it will be more easily explained, as the others are 
analagous to it in this arrangement. 

The adam being desirous to experience good and evil, presents himself 
or herself to God, as is related in Genesis, with that desire established. 
The "Word, being cognizant, not only of the desire when formed, but of 
the whole process of its formation, is not taken by surprise. The Word 
has a body prepared for the first adam, and that body is prepared as I 
have stated in the Second Book. Into that body the first adam enters, 
and the laws of the process of reproduction of those bodies are sufficient 
to ensure a supply of bodies for each adam that becomes desirous to leave 
Paradise. 

Again, these adams were divided into classes, so that they should form 
communities on Earth. So that nations should exist, and varieties of 
races be maintained, or established. For variety of race is, among the 
inhabitants of Earth, consequent in part upon the difference of souls, 
and in part upon the difference of body, as formed by the Word. But if 
the Word formed Noah as described, and Noah was the only survivor of 
his primogenitive races, how could inferior types, or bodies, be produced ? 
This question I shall leave for the present, suffice it now that it will be 
clearly explained. 

§ 57. Now, let us return to the divisions of the Spirit-World. In this 
the inhabitants, previously of different planets in a system having a com- 
mon spirit- sphere, have also affinities for each other respectively, so as to 
form to themselves divisions like unto those in Paradise ; the lower, or 
most central, being that of the innermost planet, and the others proceed- 
ing in due course outward, to the extreme outermost planet. These 
divisions, thus corresponding to the outward, furnish to the inhabitants 
of these respective spiritual planetary divisions, such resemblances to 
their respective earthly birth-places as make them look upon them as 
their spirit-homes. These resemblances, too, are independent of their 
will to have them, being the result of the united will, or affinity, of this 



109 

arrangement of matter, for such a class, or combination, of Word and 

Individuality. There is. then, even to the Spiritual perception of the 
spirit, without a desire on his part, a resemblance always evident between 
the part of the spirit-world representing his planet and it ; and this affin- 
ity, too. affects his soul so that he feels it to be his home. The spirit 
comes to regard these spirit-world divisions as the planets themselves, 
and speaks of them as such. This has led clairvoyants sometimes into 
errors, when receiving from spirits relations of their knowledge or experi- 
ence. There is, too, a further division, like that into different countries 
of the Earth, and the spirits of different races associate more with each 
other than with foreign races. This is owing, not so much to their 
ultimate adamic difference, which is very slight, but to their habits of 
thought and action, impressed so deeply upon them by the association of 
Body and Spirit-minds, while in, or upon their respective stages of action. 
Thus the inhabitants of France, particularly of its most refined portion, 
would have few associations of thought, or modes of action, with the 
Bushmen of Africa, or even wandering Arabians. Again, the culti- 
vated minds, and the uneducated, or sensual, natures of the same nation. 
form other associations, and families form others ; and even other groups 
are formed by the influence of previous associations. Others are sepa- 
rated, or joined, by the different times during which they existed in the 
body, even though they may exist now in the same circle of advance- 
ment. Yet, after all, though these distinctions exist, and are apparent to 
the minds of more advanced spirits, the spirits among whom they most 
exist, those of the Second and Third Spheres of advancement do not 
readily perceive how or why, it is so. Because, being governed so entirely 
by their own desires as to association, as well as in all other wants, or 
wishes, they overlook the effect of their gratifications. As they progress 
in advancement, they progress in knowledge ; but so do the more savage 
or barbarous nations as they progress, till, when they reach the higher 
circles of the Fourth sphere of advancement, they are equal in knowledge, 
and have so far separated from the influence of the habits of earthly 
thought and action, as to be free from such narrow views of fraternity, 
and they associate in very large bodies, having common thoughts, com- 
mon duties, common desires, and receiving knowledge and making pro- 
gress simultaneously. 

Thus they progress, enlarging the association, willingly entered into, 
cheerfully enlarged by the addition of all who desire to join the associa- 
tion, till it embraces, not merely those of different countries, but also 
those of different races, and even of different planets. For, in the higher 
sphere, there is not only no distinction as to what planet sustained the 
earthly body, but they are even brought together into one united associa- 
tion from every division, great and small, of the Great Whole Illimit- 
able Creation. 

§ 58. The divisions of Paradise are differently arranged, inasmuch as 
the Souls were placed, in the beginning, in the spheres of Paradise-sub- 
stance, attached to the respective central portions of Earth-matter they 
were assigned to inhabit. But the separation into classes for races, and 
different nations of the same race, are equally made before entrance into 



no 

Earth, as afterward. But the separation is then made by the inherent 
quality of mind, or disposition, of the soul, instead of by its habit of 
thought in the body. The first is a primary and persistent difference • 
hidden, indeed, by the earthly and spiritual bodies, in whole, or part, so 
long as they exist, but again apparent in the seventh circle of the seventh 
sphere, as well as partially so in lower circles, and even in lower spheres. 
The latter ceases as the former makes its re-appearance. This inherent 
quality of mind is not the same thing as the desire that is the predomi- 
nating cause of the departure of the adams, or souls, from Paradise. It 
is character. It is not such a difference as makes them unequal in ca- 
pacity for enjoyment, but it is such as makes them unlike, so that no 
two spirits, or souls, that were formed by the Word at the command of 
God, were ever precisely alike. God has endless resources of variety. 
His infinite conceptions of fitness, his fertility of production, and his in- 
finite variety of manifesting his works and creations, furnish to that 
infinite (to all but Him) creation, or body, of procedures, a never-ending 
source of enjoyment, in viewing and reviewing the lives and past experi- 
ence of spirits of all the different globes of matter in the Universal 
Whole of Creation ; no two of which being the same in character, and 
no two having been surrounded and influenced by like circumstances, and 
no two of the planetary bodies in the whole Illimitable creation being 
alike in respect to materials, relations to other bodies, or physical, or 
spiritual, peculiarities, but every part and parcel, even every atom, being 
different from each and every other in some respect, there is, indeed, an 
eternity of enjoyment in the pursuit of knowledge and the investigation 
of God's past, present, and future action, as manifested in the procedures 
and creations of 'His will and power. 

$ 59. Having now opened to you this fountain, from which eternal 
bliss is to flow, I have besides to say, that this is only one of the fountains, 
of which God is the feeder, as it were, which produces it and innumerable 
others, all equally endless in their capacity to confer happiness, all 
equally unfailing in their variety, all equally full of His glory, redolent 
of His praise, and abounding in His power and benevolence. But, as man 
on Earth cannot understand this, which is so peculiarly fitted to his com- 
prehension, I shall not undertake to refer more particularly to others at 
the present time, though allusion, embracing brief outlines of them, may 
be made to some few in the progress of my revealments. I have said 
that the knowledge possessed by spirits in the Fourth sphere, is to be 
revealed to mankind ; but this must not be supposed to mean that all the 
knowledge which spirits of that sphere possess is to be revealed ) for the 
Earth could not contain the books that would be required to hold it, much 
less could men now in the body write them, if all were mediums ; and 
this is not a figure of hyperbole, but simple statement of relative mag- 
nitude, or capacity, or power in relation to time. 



Ill 

TAET SECOND OF CHAPTER VI. 
The Pursuit of 'Knowledge. 

\ 60. There is in all men a desire for knowledge, but some desire it 
for one purpose, some for another. Some are said to desire it for its own 
sake, which, truly rendered, is, that they desire it for their own gratifica- 
tion rather than to benefit others. Knowledge, is the object for which 
you left Paradise, Knowledge of Good and Evil, Experience. So it is 
that this is the state of Experience, though it is also a state of probation, 
and a state in which more progress can be made in the same space of 
time, than in any one of the higher circles, or spheres. But there are 
varieties of Knowledge, and to say that a soul left Paradise from a desire 
for Knowledge is, in one sense, saying no more than that it left for Ex- 
perience of Good and Evil. Knowledge of God, and knowledge of men, 
are two great divisions. Knowledge of God's works, and knowledge of 
His laws, are two other great divisions. But there is also another kind 
of division, that is, knowledge of that which will benefit our fellow-men, 
and that which looks only to our own gratification. The knowledge that 
is useful to men is to be desired, for it enlarges a man's mind to do good 
to others, it fits him for heavenly progress, it prepares him to receive 
from God an abundant reward, for his works do follow him, and declare 
whether they have been useful, or not. 

§61. Knowledge of the Past is useful, when it teaches how to avoid 
the errors committed by the actors of former times. Knowledge of the 
Present is useful, when it enables us to sieze upon every thing discovered 
by any man, and make it useful to others. Knowledge of the Future is 
useful, when it leads us to prepare ourselves for it, as it may, by a desire 
on our part to serve God, so that He will be pleased with our works • so 
that He can bestow upon us His mercy, and save us from sin. He will 
not "pardon our sins, in the strict sense of the word • but He will lead us 
away from their enjoyment and committal. He will enable us to enjoy 
peace by being saved from sin; not by saving us in sin, but by sustaining 
us in right courses, so that the sin may be, and shall be, avoided. 

Such, then, man ! is the benevolence of God, that He will not 
merely save you, but He preserves you from evil. He not only pardons 
you in effect, but He restrains you in the future world from transgres- 
sion. Here, He allows you to receive the wages of sin ) there, He allows 
you not to suffer death again. If you obtain life, or salvation, there, you 
lose it no more. But this is not a license for you to disregard His ad- 
monitions here, or to revel and riot hereafter. It is the permission here 
to experience suffering and unhappiness if you will, and there to resist 
Him as long as you please. He is ever ready to save. His arm is never 
withdrawn when you seek His powerful aid, and the last resource of 
your own invention having been tried, and proved useless, as a means of 
happiness, a gracious God is still as willing to receive you as the first 
day you breathed in the body, or acted in the life to come. For in the 
life to come you will continue to act as you please, with the one restric- 
tion, that when your act is not one beneficial to others, it is an unreal 
o"" ~ J ' 1 - '"vnr self through your imagination. But when the 



112 

act is one useful to others, or agreeable to them, it becomes manifest to 
them, and more real in its character. And though millions of spirits 
should join in committing an act whose intention, or effect, should be in- 
jurious to one single other being, they could not make it affect that 
being in the slightest degree, though to each and every one of the million 
of actors it would be as real as any act ever can be. so far as their 
knowledge and perceptions could discover. They would suppose they 
had accomplished their design, and if they glorified their own power, and 
rejoiced over their success, they would injure no one but themselves; and 
they would not injure themselves, except that they would for so long be 
putting off the day of salvation. For this would not be an act increasing 
their sins, but manifesting their character and desires, and the truth is 
thus made evident to themselves, and to all, that the heart of man is 
desperately wicked, and there is no health or life in it, except through 
God's help ever offered to men and to spirits, by and through His Sons, 
the Christs of His Glory, the Sons of His Love, the Sent of His Mercy. 

§ 62. This, Oh, Man ! is my call to you now to repent and live. No 
longer to indulge your own will, but seek to know God and do His will. 
Seek, and ye shall find ; Knock, and it shall be opened ■ Pray, and ye 
shall be answered j Ask, and ye shall receive. There is no doubt that 
these are true sayings, even with you, Oh, Reader ! then why not act upon 
them ? Will you say you do not know how ? I have previously furnished 
you with forms of prayer. Do you say that God will not accept those words 
as yours ? 1 answer, He will, if you make them yours by adopting them. 
Do you say, He will not have a man so unregenerate as you ? I answer,that 
He is now acquainted with your every thought, every attempt to think. Do 
you suppose that mankind here and on other earths are so numerous that 
He can not attend to the actions of each ? I reply, His attributes are all 
Infinite in quality and degree. He is everywhere, and knows all that 
every being does. He, without effort, accomplishes His Will, and it is 
His Will that all men should be saved whenever they desire to be saved ; 
that they should be reconciled to Him whenever they are Avilling ; and 
that they should be helped whenever they want help. Turn then to 
God ; not to your minister, your church, your father, or your brother, or 
any man, but to God. If you fear His majesty, and reverence His great- 
ness, too much to approach Him directly, I will be a mediator between 
Him and you. I will enter your heart as soon as you ask me to, and 
help you to purify it and reconcile it to God. I will help in His will, 
and aid you whether you pray to Him, or to me. I am Alpha and Omega, 
the First and Last : by which I mean that I am sufficient for all times, 
and for every occasion. I can serve you at the beginning and at the 
ending of your course to a Sonship : and when you reach to the perfec- 
tion that I have arrived at, I can with joy share with you my inheritance 
of peace, joy, and usefulness. You can be One with God, even as I am 
One with Him : and be His Son and Sent to save sinners, as I am. You 7 
Oh, Reader ! you are the man ! I am not speaking to others, but to you. 
I am not speaking generally and abstractly only, but specially, and 
with particular reference to your immediate action. Turn, then, to God, 
by asking His or my help. Ask, and ye shall receive: Call me, and I 



113 

will come. Behold. I stand at the door of your heart now. knocking, and 
you keep me out. Behold how you reject Christ, because he comes not 
in the way you expected : which way is. you would think, one approved 
of and accepted by the church of which you are a member, or by all 
churches that have professed to be led by his example, and guided by his 
precepts. But you can easily perceive, if you reflect, that Christ, when 
he comes, must be received individually, not collectively : and that no 
church organization can accept him for you. If you want to acknowledge 
him for your Savior, you must let him save you by a sacrifice of your 
own particular Free-Will : and no other man's Free-Will sacrificed can 
save you. or in any way help you on your way to salvation and glory, 
but as you avail yourself of it as an example, and go and do likewise. 

Having now made this last appeal to you, let me ask you again to turn 
to the prayers written for you in my second Book published, and try to 
make them your own by repeating them with sincere desires for improve- 
ment, and for benefit from them, and for the power to enter into their 
spirit, and the ability to pray yourself exactly those words. When you 
have got so far. you can pray alone, and without a form of written 
words : but you can not then pray without help. But I will help you 
then : and, though you may not know it, I will aid your every good 
resolution, prompt you continually to good works, inspire you to pro- 
duce good thoughts, kind acts, loving demonstrations to and for all your 
fellows, particularly your neighbors, that is, all with whom you have 
any intercourse or acquaintance, any relations of affection, business, 
or fellowship whatever, every one whom you know you can benefit, and 
all who ask of you assistance. Judge not the beggar, or the asker : judge 
only whether he wants what you can give, and whether the gratification 
of that want, or its relief, will be a benefit to him : and if you can thus 
do good, act so as to best secure this effect. Leave his reformation to 
God. He may be worse in God's view than you are, or he may be better. 
Remember that now you are restrained by public opinion more than by 
law; by law more than by fear of God. And remember that in the 
life to come, you will not be restrained by any thing but the Love of God : 
and, that if you do not adopt that as your motive of action here, you will 
enter into the Future Life subject to no restraint, and will act not only 
as you have acted here, but as you would act here, if you were left unre- 
strained by fear of detection, when you have opportunities of selfish 
gratification of any kind whatever. Be wise to-day : to-morrow may find 
you in another state of existence : and there you will have to atone by a 
long course of attempts at self-gratification, for your unreconciliation. for 
your departures here, in your heart, from the path of rectitude and love 
of God. Then, once more, I appeal to you to save yourself. For, though 
you can not save yourself, you can not be saved by another : and if you 
would save yourself, you only have to ask God to help you, and do all 
you can to deserve His help : and relying upon the Power, Love, Mercy, 
and Perfect Wisdom of an All Wise, and Almighty Creator, Father, and 
Friend, throw yourself in submission at His feet, saying, Lord God Al- 
mighty, have mercy on me, a miserable sinner: I will be Thy servant if 
Thou wilt only let me be so, for T am not worthy to be called Thy son. 

8 



114 

Then shall the redeemed of God sing a new song, because another soul 
has begun to be reconciled to God : because another sinner has- begun to 
be saved : 

Great and marvelous are thy works, 
Lord God, Almighty ! 
Just and True are all Thy ways. 
Thou Kins' of Saints ! 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE PAST PROGRESS, AND FUTURE APPEARANCE, OF JESUS CHRIST. 



PART FIRST OF CHAPTER VII. 
How Man is Called to Progress Here and Hereajler. 

In this Chapter I shall endeavor to conclude the relations of man to 
the spirit-world, by showing how his soul is released at last from the 
spirit-body, and by what process he becomes so intimately placed with 
God. as to be worthy to be called His Son and His Heir. 

^ 63. Max progresses from the cradle to the grave. All see that, and 
men are, therefore, willing to believe that progress is a law of their 
being. The Paradisiacal state, though one of quiet happiness, of inaction, 
is one of progress, because the knowledge is there obtained that inaction 
and inactive bliss are not happiness, are not satisfying to the soul. 
Hereafter in the spirit-world he adds to even this kind of experience, if he 
is inclined to ; for in the early time of his sojourn in that world, he can 
take whatever course of enjoyment he pleases, and have all and every 
thing he desires. Happy is he who desires to love God and to know God 
Loves him. Happy is he who thus seeks God, for he is advanced to 
higher and higher happiness rapidly. He progresses to all eternity, but 
reaches the position of Son of God at an earlier, incomparably to men 
earlier, time than the man whose life and energies are, or have been, 
devoted to self-gratification in any of its forms. 

§ 64. Let us, then, be attentive to the unfoldings within us of progress 
toward reconciliation with God. Let us endeavor to be guided here by 
good motives, so that hereafter we shall act by good motives when we 
act without restraint by any thing but our own inclination. , So shall 
we progress steadily here and hereafter. So shall we find peace here, 
and happiness speedily and forever, hereafter. Let us all seek God 
here, and we will seek God hereafter. Let us sacrifice our own Free- 
will here, and we will continue to in the life to come. Let us do all 
in our power for others here, and we will continue to forever. Let us 



115 

seek for salvation as we ought here, and our seeking shall be rewarded 
by finding here an eternal salvation, in a house not made with hands, 
and eternal in the heavens. Reader, remember my appeal. Say not, in 
the Life to come, that you were not told how to prepare for it. That 
excuse will do for some, and will be valid; but you know, or may and 
should know. To you is given the five talents ; to others three, or one. 
Of you, as of them, a strict account will be required, and your reward 
shall be according to your works ; though your works can not save you, 
but only qualify you to receive God's mercy and loving-kindness. Be, 
then, ever watchful for opportunities to improve, ever laboring to promote 
some good object, ever seeking to know God's will, and ever practicing 
your knowledge of what He requires. 

LET US PRAY, i 

§ 65. Oh, God, who dost from Thy throne behold all nations, and all 
men, and all the actions of men : Oh, Thou Eternal One ! who art (as 
Thou hast ever been) kind and loving, look down with pity upon the 
miserable sinner now desiring Thy aid. Be Thou, Oh, God ; my Savior, 
my Redeemer, my light and my life, my glory and my salvation. Oh, 
God ! Thou knowest what I need, and what I would ask for at Thy 
hands. Thou, Oh, God ! knowest my infirmities, and hast my affections 
in Thy Power : for I desire to place them upon Thee, as the only true 
source of happiness ; and to elevate my desires to the measure of doing 
Thy Will. Help me, Oh, God ! to surrender to Thee my Free-Will, as 
the sacrifice Thou requirest, and as the acceptable offering I can make, 
and as the offering I desire to make ; and help me to be brought into 
perfect subjection to Thy Will, and lead me in such paths that I may be 
able to follow Thee to Thy High Courts, and to the gates of Thy Holy of 
Holies. Oh, God ! let me not sink into despondency, or be the despairing 
outcast. Let me be raised to Thy Power, and placed on Thy Right- 
Hand, for Thine is the Kingdom, Power, Glory, and Honor, now and for 
ever and ever. Amen. 

§ 66. Let all the people praise Thee, 
Oh ! Most High and Holy Lord ! 
Let all the nations bow before Thy Throne ! 
And let every ruler of nations seek to be thy Servant ; 
For all shall know Thee, Oh, Thou Most High King ! 
From the least to the greatest, and from high and to low. 

Let all that is within me praise Thee ; 

Let all the world of Earth bow down, 

Let us all submit to Thee, Oh, most high God : 
And help us with Thy unfailing Help from Heaven, 
And the Love and Mercy of Thy Son, our Lord, 
And the great help of all Thy holy and high Sons. 

Let us, Oh, God ! know Thee to be our Father, 

And look on Thee as our ever present Friend ; 

Let us never want Thy light in our Souls, 
Or fear the surrender of our captive affections to Thee ; 
Oh ! Thou kind and loving Friend, and affectionate Father! 
Oh, Thou most high and holy Creator and Preserver of All ! 



116 

Let us have, Oh, God ! Almighty Father! 

Let us have all the help of Thy Love, 

And all the favor of Thy Mercy ; 
For we are weak and hardly able to seek Thy Love, 
"We are passive to Thy influence, Oh, God ! but not active ; 
We are desirous to serve Thee, but know not how, oh, Lord, our Father. 

Let us then, Oh, God! be helped, 

And let us not be forgotten by Thee, 

For we are the least of Thy people : 
But we desire to know Thee, and love Thee better hereafter, 
And to seek Thee, as we have not heretofore sought Thee, 
Oh! most Holy and Kind, and Untiringly Merciful God! 

Let us be found accepted ; 

Let us be found Thy servants ; 

Let us be raised to be Thy Sons ; 
Oh, God ! most Loving, most Kind, most Holy, most Merciful ! 
Oh ! Lord of Heaven and Earth ! of Men and Angel-spirits ! 
Oh ! Holy One of All Time ! and Ruler of Eternity Unending. 

§ 67. I^et us be found able to make this prayer, the last as well as the 
first. The last I have had arranged in lines and verses, not because it is 
poetry, but because my medium desired it. in the expectation that it 
would be poetry. Finding it was not equal to his expectations, he was 
puzzled; but he sought only to do my will, and he was not confounded. 
So shall it ever be ; the seekers to do God's or my will shall not be for- 
saken, though they err ; but the seekers to know my words to torture 
them, shall be confounded by their significance, and shall not understand 
what they reject. Pray, then, that you may understand, for this is the 
day in which the wise shall understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly. 
This is the day in which the filthy shall be filthy still ; and the dawn 
shall show what each man is, and will be. Be, then, seekers after 
knowledge of God, and be wise. Be at peace with all, and let no man 
take your crown. This I have explained ; hesd that explanation. 

§ 68. Having now reached a place where we can pause, and review 
what has been unfolded, and having now arrived nearly at the end of 
this Grand Division of this Book, I will sum up the revelation of the 
past, the view of the present, and the expectation of the future. 

Man is a being whose soul proceeded from God. His body was pre- 
pared for his soul by God, to be its temporary residence. This body is 
double, or composed of two separate substances ; the one shorter lived 
than the other. It perishes as a body of an animal does, and returns to 
the dust or earth-matter from which it was formed. The other body 
lives beyond the grave. It exists through changes in its nature, which 
refine it and purify it, and at last dissipate it, almost insensibly, into 
space, from whence it returns, by the law of affinity, to the great reservoir 
of its material, from which it was originally drawn. The Soul is then 
free to assimilate with its other part, which was joined to it in Paradise. 
Together they form, then, one being, but with two Minds, or Individuali- 
ties, or Souls. One Soul in its relations to others, one soul in its rela- 
tions to God ; but two souls in relation to itself. It is, indeed, the type 



117 

of the Married State of men in the body. By its purity it produces fruit 
of Good works, by its own action, provided it acts in God's will ; and by- 
its singleness it reaches to God. It is one with Him; and, as one, it is 
one with all other spirits, or Sons, or pairities, in its circle. It is two to 
itself, to men in the body, and to lower spirits. 

§ 69. I am the Lord Jesus Christ; born as a man, of Mary — the lawful 
wife of Joseph, the son of Jacob, of Bethlehem but born in Nazareth. I 
am the soul that existed in that body on Earth. As a man I was desirous 
to serve God by persuading my fellow-men to serve God, to seek His 
Love, and be saved by His mercy, because of His Kindness and Love for 
all His children and procedures. Animated by this desire, God was 
pleased to help me do His Will, and gave me for this purpose the aid of a 
Son who had reached the circle I am now in. This Son was my Christ. 
He and I were one. because I desired to do God's will, and he desired to 
do God's will. I was, then, a Son of God by my union with a Son of 
God. I was also a Son of God by being born with pure desires for God's 
service. I was also a Son of God by being specially provided with a 
body in a miraculous manner, as I have before fully described. I was 
one with God because I was one with His Son who dwelt in me ; and the 
works, or miracles, which I did, were not by my own power, or in my 
own will, but were performed through me, by God operating upon me, 
through the Christ in me. I was thus blessed with Divine Help, and fed 
with Divine Food. But my outward sustenance was also provided for 
me ; first, by my own labor, and second, by the favor, or offerings, of 
others, after I commenced my ministry. My raiment was the gift of 
God, through pious men (or women). In all this I was consistent. I 
walked as God directed, I preached as He inspired, and I worked as He 
commanded. But He spoke not to me directly, but by His Christ. 
Having, then, led the life He required, and been accepted as a faithful 
servant, I desired to be released without the agony of death on the cross, 
which I knew impended. I prayed earnestly again and again, but God 
was inexorable, because it was His Will ; I submitted, and was led as a 
Lamb to the slaughter. My sufferings were not great, because I was 
sustained by God's Power and Mercy. The flesh was rendered insensible 
by the influence of His Spirit, or Christ, in me ; and, having at last left 
the body hanging on the cross, I descended into the place of departed 
spirits, or ascended to the Spirit-world, but descended to its lowest state, 
the second Sphere, the First circle, and passing from that immediately 
to the next (because I had there no atonement to make, having no sins in 
my nature, or experience, of its class), I thus went on rapidly to the 
Sixth circle, where I paused to make atonement for having desired so 
strongly to avoid my fate. This atoned for, by Good works performed to 
spirits there, and men in the body, I again progressed to higher and higher 
circles, till I reached the Fourth Sphere, First circle ; when, being suf- 
ficiently purified and elevated in my spiritual body and mind, I re-entered 
the yet warm body, as it lay in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, about 
six o'clock in the morning of the First day of the week. That body, 
reinvigorated by its soul and spiritual body and mind, was again filled 
with life; which had left it not as a consequence of wounds, or suffering, 



118 

but as released by God. acting through His Christ, as I have said He 
always does act by some agent well fitted for His purpose. I then 
appeared to my disciples and others, walking about in the body I had 
formerly used ; which body was purified and renovated by my purified 
and renovated Spirit-body, and raised Soul, so as to be of more refined 
Earthy-matter, and more perfectly controllable by my will. It was thus 
capable of being changed at once to invisibility, and of passing through 
solid substances as easily as Magnetism. Electricity, and Caloric can do : 
and it was thus that I appeared, and disappeared, to or from my follow- 
ers. It was by this command over the earthy materials of that body, 
that the unbelieving Thomas was convinced, that the disciples saw me 
submit to the test of eating fish with them. Yet food was no longer a 
necessity for that body. It was maintained, and retained, by the power 
and will of my raised spiritual-intelligence and soul. When the proper 
time came. I caused the Earthy body to disappear, as a cloud before the 
visions and outward senses of my chosen followers, and ascended slowly, 
with my spiritual body and celestial countenance, from their enraptured 
gaze, from the clouds that the earthy-body became at its dissolution, to 
the clouds of spiritual glory, or celestial spirits that thronged about me, 
as I arose from earth and again commenced my progress in the spirit- 
world. 

I again appeared to Paul when I was in the Third circle of the Fourth 
sphere, and my spiritual body by its brightness blinded him ; and all his 
company saw the light and heard my voice, but their outward eyes 
were closed to the light which did not blind them, and they received not 
into their hearts that belief which Paul did. Again and again have I 
manifested myself in various ways since to my followers and sincere 
worshipers, and as a miraculous sign ; as the martyr Stephen saw me 
when about to be stoned, and by my power fell asleep without pain : as 
Constantine saw my manifestations when he was undecided whether to 
court or persecute the Christians. Still more often have I spoken in the 
hearts of the people of God ; and now, having very lately arrived at the 
Seventh circle of the Seventh sphere, I am directing this procedure, from 
my pairital power, in God's will, and with the concurrence and aid of all 
the spirits with whom I am in unity, in number so great as I have de- 
scribed in my Second Book, including, of course, the same Perfect Son of 
God that was with me as my Christ when I was in the body, and who is 
now joined to me in perfect unity as equal and joint-heir to God, equal 
in Power, Love, and Mercy, to God, because we only act in His Will, and 
therefore have His Power ? Love, and Mercy, to use and dispense. 

§ 70. Being, then, here united to God, and so perfectly one with Him, 
as to have no other separation than that of possessing a certain portion 
of the substance called by me heretofore Individuality, combined with a 
portion of God's substance, which is called Aura, or Word, which com- 
bination possesses a memory of its own, I am truly worthy to be praised 
as God's Son, and as the Savior of the world of Mankind that are 
willing to be saved. But I am not desirous to have you attend to me, 
rather than God. God is above me, as I am above you ; and though I 
am immeasurably above you ; God is immeasurably above me. Let no 



119 

man, then, worship me instead of the Father, or as Almighty God ; but 
he may worship me as a part of God, doing God's will, and partaker 
of His Nature, Power, Mercy, and Love, and as united with God in such 
a manner that all the praise, honor, glory, and worship, which is address- 
ed to me, ascends to the Father. I am nothing, although I am so much, 
but a high servant of God ; desiring only to be His servant, and benefit 
mankind and spirits, and please Him thereby, because that is the way 
He delights to be served. I am in this work united to my proper pairital 
part, that was with me in Paradise, and there was my Eve. That pair- 
ital part preceded me to the bodily life, and was the spirit of Mary my 
mother. She, too, left Paradise with a desire to be serviceable to God ; 
but not from gratitude, but from affection. God, or the Word, by whom 
he acts in Paradise, selected her spirit for its special body, which was 
favorably placed, or circumstanced, in education and training, so that 
she was inclined to be the handmaiden of the Lord God, and to submit 
to His will as It should be and was made known to her. Such is my 
History, more fully written than before ; and such is my present state, 
and such are my present objects and acts. Now, reader, what do you 
say? will you help, or hold back? will you retard, or advance, my 
future appearance in clouds of glory ? by which I shall again outwardly 
manifest myself to the inhabitants of Earth, and rule my people with 
justice and glory, and render to God every soul that obeys my call. If 
you are not for me, you are against me. Be wise and understand, for the 
time is at hand. 

LET US PRAY. 

k 71. Oh, Almighty, Incomprehensible Father ! Oh, Loving and Ever- 
lasting God ! be pleased to help the Reader of this Book to understand 
and believe ; to come to a knowledge of Thee, and of Me, and to be 
brought to a willingness and desire to be Thy servant. Oh, God! Heav- 
enly Father ! let not his fears of men, or his fears of delusion, or his 
fears of any earthly power or influence whatever, keep him from sur- 
rendering his Free-Will to me, in order that I may replace it by Thy 
will. Oh, God ! pardon his inattention at this and other times, and 
make him willing and desirous to read again and again, till he shall be 
wise and understand; and to Thee, Oh, Father ! shall be praise, honor, 
glory, and worship, and dominion, both here and hereafter, both now 
and in the world to come. Amen. 

ANOTHER PRAYER ) LET US PRAY. 

§ 72. Oh, God ! Thou hast heard my prayer, 

And hast been pleased to grant my petition ; 
Most heartily I beseech Thee to pardon my medium's shortcomings, 
And let not his faithlessness be laid up against him. 

Oh, God ! be very merciful, 

For he is very far from Thee ; 
Oh ! belp him to be passive to my will in other matters, 
As he is obedient and passive in this particular one. 



120 

Oh, Lord ! I am willing to help him, 

If Thou wilt let him be powerfully helped ; 
Oh, Lord ! I will help him powerfully, if thou wilt be pleased to have it so, 
And lead him to Thy feet changed and redeemed. 

Oh, Father ! help me to save him 

And let Thy Mercy be very abundant upon him ; 
For he improves not as I would have him in this life, 
And prepares not as I would have him for the life to come. 

Oh, Father ! look with pity and compassion, 

Look with Holy Loving-Kindness upon him ; 
So that he may become fully Thy servant, besides being my medium ; 
So that he may become Thy son, even as I am Thy Son. Amen. 

§ 73. Let us all endeavor to profit by the prayer I have made for my 
medium : for he is not the only medium who needs, neither are mediums 
the only ones who require, such prayers. Therefore, Oh, Reader ! do 
you, too, try to join me in making it for yourself; and be not inattentive 
to its requirements, its admonitions, or its solicitations. Desire to make 
it fully your own, together with the one that precedes it, and which was 
made especially for you. Let all profit by all that is thus given, and 
all will thus be advanced toward their final state, and all will help in 
that way to prepare the way for the reign on earth of my spirit in the 
hearts of men. and of my outward appearance to the bodily senses of 
mankind. 



PAPvT SECOND OF CHAPTER VII. 
What shall be. 

§74. In the future I shall appear upon the Earth, to the outward, the 
bodily, senses or perceptions of mankind, with a prepared body. I shall 
appear as a man, glorious in form, and majestic in manner; as a Son of 
God, endowed with power from Heaven ; as a Son of Man, having an 
Earthy-body; as a Christ, preaching Glad Tidings of Great Joy; as a 
Messiah, to save the people of God from the fate their enemies would 
impose upon them. But how shall wc know you? for when you ap- 
peared before as Jesus of Nazareth, you were not known by those who 
were looking for you ! and we may be equally blind, for you then had all 
these attributes and distinguishing marks that you have now described ! 

§ 75. You will know me by my declarations, for I will declare my- 
self to be what I have said. You will know me by the declarations of 
this medium, who will bear testimony that I am he who has promised, 
and been promised, to appear a second time to live and reign on Earth. 
You will know me by the testimony of all other mediums of spiritual 
manifestations, who will either be silent, or announce me as he that 
should come, and bear witness that you should not look for another. 
You will know me by the crowds that will follow me and be fed ; by the 
lame, the halt, the blind, the dumb, the insane, the wicked, and the 
despised, who will all declare my glory, honor, praise, and high renown. 



121 

and that I work as no man works, and teach as no man taught. Will 
you, then, Reader, believe ? will you be a follower, a disciple ? Oh, 
Reader, you may think you will be, but I tell you now, you are and wili 
be incredulous ; or, you are and will be believing. If you can not believe 
this book, thus published to the world, and presented as a free gift of the 
labor of my medium, you will be unwilling to believe me when I person- 
ally declare the same truths, and preach the same doctrines, and have 
the same testimony as borne to the authenticity of this book. Strive, 
then, to believe ; you have Moses and the prophets, you have Paul and 
John. You have the witnesses near you and throughout the land ; if 
you will not believe them, you will not believe because one you have 
never seen should rise from the dead. It is, then, now that you should 
investigate, now that you should strive to believe, now that you should 
resolve to believe, now that you should seek by prayer to God to have an 
internal assurance that all these testimonies are true ; for the spirit is a 
faithful witness, and does bear witness that I am the first and the last, the 
beginning and the end, the A and the Z, the one that was, and is, and 
will be evermore, and he that should come as a Savior, a Redeemer, a 
Mediator, and a God. Be ye faithful unto death, for such shall not be 
subject to the second death. Be ye ever willing to die, and you shall be 
saved ; be ye ever found faithful, and you shall not be tried severely, 
for I will have mercy and compassion on mine own, and from him that 
folio weth after me I will not flee away. . 

§ 76. Let all, then, seek to be glorified, purified, and established on the 
Rock of Faith. For on this Rock will I build my church, and the gates 
of the world of departed spirits, nor the wiles of the Free-Will of Man, 
shall not prevail against it, nor shall any man make afraid the multitude 
who shall gather themselves together in that holy mountain, and there 
be delivered from all the combined powers and forces of the kings of the 
Earth, or the indulgences and temptations of earthly nature, that shall 
be collected from the whole face of the Earth, and from the waters, or 
atmosphere, that surrounds it. This is my hope and my expectation, 
that you will be found on my side, within the gates of that Eternal City 
not made with hands, which cometh down from Heaven arrayed as a 
bride for the arms of her husband. Her gates shall be praise, her streets 
good works, her temples the heart within you> her light the light of God's 
presence, and her glory from everlasting to everlasting. It shall be 
perfect in form, rich in material, glorious in appearance, incomparable in 
nature. It shall have the fountains of life, and all manner of fruits of 
righteousness within, and the Saints of the Most High God shall dwell in 
it forever and forever, and forever. Ten thousand times ten thousand, ten 
thousand times ten thousand ; ten thousand times ten thousand thousands 
of times multiplied, and repeatedly multiplied by each other, will not 
include all the number of the Saints who shall sing to the praise of the 
Glorious King of Glory, and His Redeeming Love. 

Great and marvelous are thy works, 

Lord God, Almighty ! 
Just and true are all thy ways, 

Thou King of Saints! 



SECOND GRAND DIVISION. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE UNENDING CONSTANCY OF PROGRESS. 



PART FIRST OF CHAPTER VIII. 

The Infinite Nature of Spiritual Progress. 

HYMN OF PRAISE. 

§ 77. Let all the people praise the Lord 
Yea, let all the people praise Him ! 
For His great mercies and for His Loving-Kindnesses, 
And for His everlasting Mercy, which endureth forever and ever. 

Yea, let all the people praise the Lord ! 
Yea, let all that is within each man praise Him ! 
For His Mercy, and His Truth, and Loving-Kindness ; 
And because His Mercy is Everlasting, and endureth forever and ever. 

Yea, let all that is within us give thanks I 
For He hath raised me to Power, 
And placed me on His Right Hand, 
And sent me to proclaim His Mercy, which endureth forever and forever. 

Let all the people praise the Lord ! 
For He alone is worthy to be praised ! 
For from Him is all strength, and every good work ; 
And His everlasting Love, and His untiring Mercy, endureth forever. Amen. 

§ 78. Where shall the wicked man find a refuge from the Mercy of an 
ever-present God? Where shall the Ungodly hide who are ashamed 
to he seen, or known, "by Him ? Alas ! alas ! if they ascend into Heaven, 
He is there ! if they go down into the grave, and thence to the place of 
departed spirits, He is there ! if they flee to the uttermost parts of the cre- 
ation, to the farthest portion of Earthy matter in the Illimitable universe, 
He is there ! and every where when they meet God, will He require of 
them the fulfillment of this command, My Son, give Me thy heart. Sac- 
rifice >to Me. oh, man ! that Free-will which I surrendered to you for free 
exercise, and unlimited use and control, and that you might see that all is 
vanity of vanity ; all is vanity. Sacrifice to Me your heart, that is your 



123 

Free-Will, and you shall live "with Me in everlasting progress, in useful occu- 
pation, in ever new delights, live with Me as my Son, as my Son's compan- 
ion and equal, and as the heir and co-heir of My Love, Mercy, and Power, 
as the executor of My will, and the administrator of my attributes ! Be ; 
then, faithful seekers, untiring servants, happy Sons, eternal Companions. 
Be. then, as the first step, a believer in my declarations, and seeker for 
more light. Be faithful, vigilant, unfearing : be bold in proclaiming, 
earnest in extending your conviction of my truth ; and tell every man 
you meet with, and have a suitable opportunity to inform, "where the 
pearl of great price is to be found. Be prepared to render to every 
inquirer a reason for your faith, but do not wrangle, or contend. De- 
clare your own confidence ; express a hope that others may attain the 
same. Let God work and give the increase; do you be patient. All 
will be well. My kingdom shall be established : all men will be saved. 
Blessed are they who believe now, and wait not for more evidence. 
Blessed, too, are they who shall believe because of that evidence to be 
given : but more blessed shall they be, who, believing, shall do the work 
I call them to, and become my servants. Remember it is not he that 
heareth and assents, but he that doeth the will of his father, that is the 
dutiful and acceptable son. Remember that all the sons of men who ever 
have, or ever will live, can not save you. but that only God can save 
you : and remember that He makes one indispensable condition of salva- 
tion, the same to you and to all men, the sacrifice of your own will, 
your earthly desires, your ties to the world, your outward hopes, your 
affections : your every thing, in fact, that you can call your own, you are 
required to place on the altar of God, and fire from heaven shall descend, 
and all that is not found pure metal, pure as it came from God who gave 
it, shall be consumed, or melted, and all that is not thus destroyed by 
the fire shall remain upon the altar ever ready for God's acceptance or 
use. and you shall have, instead of your own, a new heart, new affec- 
tions, new hopes, new desires, the gifts of God and the sources of your 
happiness. You shall not perish by the sacrifice, but find salvation, 
everlasting life. 

Let no man. then, take your crown. Go not to man to tell him what 
you want, or what you have received, and to ask him what you should 
do next. Join no body of men to establish your faith, or to help you to 
maintain it. God is a better helper, a surer friend, than all men to- 
gether : and when the blind lead the blind, they will surely meet with 
misfortune and be cast away. Be, then, no more seeking after the inven- 
tions of men to raise themselves to Heaven, or their contrivances to enter 
by some other way. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; in Me is 
Life, and he who entereth in Me, or I in him, entereth into, or has, ever- 
lasting Life. Where, then, shall I find you, oh, Reader ! when I- appear 
in my glorified form upon the Earth ? On God's side, or on the side 
of the world ? On my side, or on your own ? How much of this hap- 
piness I have described you shall enjoy for a very long period, may 
depend upon your answer. Millions of years may be required to do the 
work you can now accomplish in one, and your eternal happiness, though 
certain to arrive, may commence that much sooner, and continue in 



124 

undiminished, undiminishable fullness, till the end of that which is 
unending, till eternity unites all time into one present, and knows no 
past, anticipates no future. 

This is, not a time of oblivion but a fruition of full happiness, when all 
shall be Sons of God equally perfect : when all shall be the perfect Sons 
of God, united each to his pairital part. Then, the Love of God, having 
pervaded every soul and being reciprocated in each, will be the long and 
the ever-existing blessed dwelling-place of the Sons of God. They will 
exist in that as a substance like unto Aura, or atmosphere. Where will 
they be then, inasmuch as Creation is filled with Aura and the matter 
created by the Word? They will be with God, and God is everywhere. 
They will dwell in His Love, and His Love will be where He is ; and 
He is, and will be, everywhere. Then God's love, being a part of Him- 
self, now pervades all of creation, and is ever in us and all men ! Yes, 
and it becomes manifest whenever we allow it to, by subjecting our own 
wills to God's will, and giving His nature that ascendancy in us to 
which He is entitled by His Excellency and Holiness. 

$ 79. The future, then, must ever exist, and the future will, like the past, 
be a progressive state ; because God is the Parent of variety, and is inex- 
haustible in His resources for the gratification, employment, and benevolent 
acts of his subordinate beings. Then fear not that you will suffer, in the 
far distant vista of eternal happiness, from want of novelty, or occupation. 
Believe that God is never at a loss for resources, that He is never at a loss 
for occupation, for grand thoughts, for holy laws, for unending improvement, 
or change of pre-existent states and conditions. He will never be at a loss 
to give to His Sons perfect bliss and unchanging happiness, though eternal 
novelty is required, and He is only removed from them by the barrier of 
Infinity. It is Infinity which possesses all these resources; and the 
procedures from God, by whatever name they may be called, by whatever 
powers or combinations distinguished, however long they may progress 
in constant approaches toward God's own perfection, they must ever 
remain finite, and, though ever so long one with Him, always inferior to 
Him by this difference. This difference is, indeed, an insurmountable 
one, and a long course of instruction will be necessary to enable you to 
understand its degree. Indeed, the understanding of God's procedures, 
the Word excepted, is insufficient to comprehend Infinity, though God's 
Perfect Sons have some conceptions of the principles upon which it 
depends, and enjoy deep researches into its nature, as man enjoys the 
pursuit of a science which at last he does not fully understand or 
master. This is one of the occupations of which Sons can never tire, 
and which will afford constant variety, constant progress, and eternal 
happiness. Let us, then, all endeavor to establish my kingdom upon the 
Earth, so that here may be a faint outline of the eternal Kingdom of God 
in the Heavens. For my Kingdom will exist in my will, and in God's 
will ; and will be a copy of His Kingdom, and governed by His laws. 
Herein is wisdom. Let him that readeth understand, for the number of 
the names which John saw in the Holy City was a hundred and forty 
and four thousand, and these names were divided into twelve divisions, 
and the number of the names in each division was twelve thousand. 



125 

Heroin is wisdom. Seek the name of which this is the number ; seek the 
name that contains the first number and all the numbers. Such a name 
can be found in the Greek: language, in which the prophecy was delivered. 

LET US PRAY. 

$ 80. Oh, God ! Thou knowest all things j grant unto us, Thy servants, 
such knowledge of the future as may be useful to us, and such knowl- 
edge of Thy revelation as it pleases Thee to give to us. Oh, God ! let 
us not desire to know more than this, lest we obtain it to our harm, and 
have to rely on Thy help for relief. Amen. 

Be Thou. Oh. God ! ever with us, inspiring us with Thy counsel. Be 
Thou, Oh, Father ! ever with us, helping us by Thy Power, and be Thou, 
Oh. God ! the sure and steadfast maintainer of our progress and of our 
salvation, for by Thee we live, and in Thee have our existence, our hope, 
and our love and desire to live. Oh, Lord, God Almighty ! be very 
gracious to us Thy servants, who humbly desire to do Thy will, and 
walk in Thy ways, and receive from Thee such pay as Thou art pleased 
to give : having, oh, God ! confidence, not merely in Thy justice, but in 
Thy generosity. Oh ! Thou abundant Giver ! give unto us abundantly. 
and let us always look to Thee as the Source of our sustenance, and the 
Partitioner of our bounty. Oh, God ! be merciful to us, sinners yet, 
though also trying to be Thy servants ; and suffer us not to be led into 
temptation, and save us from tempting Thee by expecting miracles for 
our use and support. Oh, Lord ! be merciful, as Thou art alone capable 
of being : and forgive us, who act as enemies to Thee, and seek also to 
be called Thy servants. Oh, Lord of Heaven and Earth ! be merciful, 
for we are unworthy to be called Thy Sons, but are only worthy to be 
called Thy hired servants for thus asking Thy rewards and blessings 
here in this present world, when the same wages laid up in Heaven would 
be so much more blissful and lasting. Oh, Lord, God Almighty ! be 
now kind to us, and give us what it pleases Thee to confer upon us, and 
give it to us at such time as may, in Thy wisdom, be found to be the best 
time. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER YIII. 

Outward Manifestations of Spirit-Life. 

§ 81. The time when the Fifth Monarchy shall be established as a 
really outward manifestation of an earthly kingdom is near at hand. It 
will be preceded by troubled and disastrous events, in which my servants 
will have to bear a share of the misfortunes of their countrymen. But 
the true life and enjoyment of man is inward and from within, and de- 
pendent wholly upon inward manifestations. A generation shall not 
pass away between the peace of the present and the joy of the future. 
Within the life of many now in the body shall be outwardly experienced 
the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, the Author of this Book, to assume the 
Power and Rule, in his outward form, of the people of America, and to 
establish the Fifth Monarchy ; of which there shall be no end under the 



126 

present form of the Earth as a planet. But, as I said in the Second 
Book, a change of the Earth is impending, and will soon, in a few 
thousand years, take place; and as a consequence of that change men 
will assume a different kind of bodies, more refined and purer-minded ; 
and they will then be left again, as they were under Noah and his sons, 
to replenish the Earth, and to establish their own forms of government 
under the counsel and inspiration of God and His Holy Spirits. By that 
time there will be many more of Earth-born spirits arrived at the 
Seventh circle of the Seventh Sphere. By that time my pre-eminence 
among the spirits from the Earth, or of adamic nature, will be shared 
with many who are now in lower circles and lower spheres. They will, 
as I have stated, be my equals in power and unity with God. But 
some will say, Did not your miraculous birth indicate that you were 
to be ever distinguished among the Sons of men ? Were you not thus 
marked out as the Son of God in an especial manner, and designed for- 
ever to be more distinguished by God's Love than other beings who have 
lived on Earth ? Not at all. God designed to have a special work per- 
formed, and I, in my adamic form in Paradise, offered myself for His 
service, instead of desiring to receive merely an experience of change 
and variety. My pairital part had preceded me, and, having been thus 
actuated also, was placed where a work was to be performed. Her 
work was a great one, and her trial a severe one. She passed through it 
nobly. 

§ 82. How many pure-minded young women, of the present or any 
other time, could be found, possessed of unblemished reputation, betrothed 
to an affectionate kind-hearted man, soon to be received into his house, 
possessed of good name, warm friends, and the respect of all her ac- 
quaintance, who could bear with submission, with unrepining words, 
with perfect assent and resignation, the announcement that she had con- 
ceived by the power of God without the knowledge of man, and that she 
should thus bear a son who would be known as other than her affianced 
husband's ? Is there one, pure in heart, in word, in deed ? Is there one 
who could receive this announcement with a foresight of the consequences 
which might reasonably be expected to arise from the incredulity of man- 
kind, such as the displeasure and sacrifice of her intended husband, the 
averted and pitying regard of her friends, the disgraceful dishonor of her 
acquaintances, the contempt of the villagers among whom she resided ; 
indeed, in her case also the apprehended punishment, provided by the 
laws of Moses there established and enforced ; is there, I say, one such 
virgin to be found now ? No one will presume to declare that, wife or 
mother, sister or daughter of theirs, that they themselves, could bear 
such an ordeal of their faith. Read, my friend ! Reader, read the 
account of this extraordinary occurrence as it is simply and unostenta- 
tiously related in Luke, and see how much more wonderful it appears to 
you than it ever did before. 

§ 83. Luke's Gospel, or Narrative, of the Glad Tidings preached by me 
was written, as he describes, after many others had undertaken to set 
forth the same events in a particular manner ; but he, perceiving in all 
a want of particularity in this respect, was careful to give the account 



127 

more fully than any who had written. There is another account of this 
event contained in a work called apocryphal, and which, indeed, is greatly 
corrupted in its text, where Joseph's and Mary's previous history is, in 
the main, correctly given ; and many details respecting their flight to 
Egypt, to which no allusion is found in the present Bible. As I have 
said, there were other scriptures of gospel truth, which the council of 
Nice rejected, and which religious partisans perseveringly destroyed, 
which contained better and fuller histories of my life and death, and 
purer accounts of my sayings and doings, than much that was retained. 
Not that John was not as able to give a correct and full account as any, 
but that he wrote with the knowledge of what had been written, and 
principally to supply omissions, or correct misapprehensions or incorrect 
reports or opinions based on wrong inferences from already written 
accounts. It was particularly against the perversions of a Cerinthus 
that he wrote when he composed his gospel. Mark, too, wrote for a 
particular purpose, which was, in part, to display the character and 
office of Peter, and in part to correct misapprehensions of Peter's office, 
already beginning to elevate him to a pre-eminence he neither claimed 
nor was entitled to. Matthew wrote earlier than either of the others, 
and was a Hebrew, and wrote in Hebrew ; but with a design to show to 
the Jews that I was the Messiah; and to the christianized or believing 
Jews that I was a man and a brother, but a prophet and a seer, a 
Messiah and a Prince ; and that I had fulfilled the laws of Moses and his 
ritual not as an example to others which all should follow, but as a com- 
pletion of its work, as a reproach to the rulers who caused the crucifixion. 

§ 84. The part of Mary, then, was well performed. She submitted 
cheerfully and gracefully and thankfully to the will of God, as an- 
nounced by His power to her. She was not deceived by trusting to Him, 
nor was she destroyed or brought to shame. So it will ever be with God's 
servants. Her work was then in great part done^ the common feelings 
of maternity would do the rest. Her life was a peaceful one, except as 
she sometimes suffered from the consequences of my persecution, after I 
had begun my ministry. She was left in the care of my beloved apostle 
John, who took the bereaved widow to his house, and soon after laid her 
in a quiet grave, where her remains returned to their original proper 
combinations. Her other sons and daughters were yet residing in Nazareth, 
and struggling to maintain themselves by honest labor. They afterward 
received the belief that I was a miraculous son of their mother, and that 
I had been the Sent of God ; but, as I have before stated, they never fully 
comprehended my mission, and their doctrines, combined with their natu- 
ral relationship, caused many to hold back from that state of progress 
and liberty which I designed to impress upon my followers. 

§ 85. And I, having also fulfilled my mission, received my reward. 
Though differently generated, I was an ordinary man as to body. 
Though differently actuated, I was an adam in being. My spiritual 
body was. like that of another, consequent upon my entrance into my 
earthy one. I was blessed with God's help, as all men may be. I had 
advantages in my earthly purity which others do not have, but which 
some will have hereafter. These advantages, though, are not such as 



128 

affect GocVs favor. He helps according to need, and the sacrifice of the 
heart is all that is required of any man. God will do the rest, whether 
the man's nature is such that the rest must he much, or little. The one 
is as easy as the other for God to accomplish. In the Spirit-world I 
advanced rapidly, because I had done much on the Earth. So it will be 
with all. They who do the work here, may do in a few years what 
then will require millions of years to accomplish. And, yet, you are 
informed that I required many hundreds to reach the highest circle of 
the Seventh sphere ! A hundred years ago I was not in it. But, though I 
have so lately arrived, I am a Full, a Perfect Son. I am equal to all 
others who are with me, and none below the Word is superior to me. 
The High and Perfect Sons of God are all equal, and all will be equal 
to them who become one with them in their circle. One with them in 
will, they may be now, by submitting to God's Will ; because the will 
of these Sons is God's Will, and whatever He Wills, they will. So 
when man in the body sacrifices his Free-Will, he has the Will of God 
in him; and his will is God's Will, and God's Will is his. It is to this 
state I desire you to approach as nearly as you can. Then shall the 
Will of God be done in you, as in me ■ on Earth, as in Heaven. Progress, 
then ; progress to perfection. Be ye perfect, even as I am perfect, even 
as your Father in Heaven is Perfect. So shall you live, and love God, 
and advance to unending happiness. But if we are perfect, even as you 
and as God, shall we not be already in perfect happiness ? No man is 
perfect thus ; but if any man should be perfect thus, he would be already 
qualified for Perfect Happiness, and would be in the Fourth sphere when 
he had reached the Spirit- world. The perfection to which you are called 
is perfect resignation ; perfect knowledge you can not have without its 
reception, which is received, and can only be received, by passing through 
the spheres and circles assigned for that purpose. The next state is the 
only one in which you can receive such knowledge, and therefore you 
can never enter those circles while in the body. Had I continued on the 
Earth in the spiritualized earthly body I wore after my resurrection. I 
could have been no higher than the First circle of the Fourth Sphere. 
High as this is, it does not give power to act with such knowledge as 
can benefit mankind in a high degree. The acts performed by such 
spirits in their own knowledge, must be little more elevated, or perfect 
in wisdom, than if they were in the body, except as their knowledge of 
men's thoughts and actions, derived from reading their memories, can 
aid them much in inferences as to what they will do. 

§ 86. Here, then, we pause again and reflect, that Jesus of Nazareth 
possessed the power to read the thoughts and memories of men, when he 
had ascended to heaven, only by having passed through the appropriate 
circles for that knowledge ; but, that he could not on Earth so qualify 
himself to pass thus rapidly through the higher circles above the Third 
Sphere, for there his rapid, or momentary as it were, progress through 
circles ceased, and no longer continuance on Earth, no more services ren- 
dered or honors given or mercies received, could have qualified me to 
be so instantly, as it were, passed through circles I did not then pass 
through. So I had done my work on Earth. I had done all that could 



129 

benefit mankind: I had done all that conld benefit myself; there was no 
more work for me to do, that I could not better do in the Spirit- world 
than in the Earthy form. Here is another reason why God should not 
have saved my life from those who desired to take it ; and here is an 
answer to all such as said, "If thou be the Son of God, come down from 
the Cross, and we will follow Thee !" They lied when they said so, for 
they would only have returned to the old charge, M He casts out devils 
by the prince of devils." They would have been animated by new fury, 
and railed against me as only disappointed revenge knows how to rail, 
as only envious detractors know how to scold and storm. 

§ 87. Here is another instance of the inutility of outward manifesta- 
tions as such, for, when I was arisen from the consequences of death on 
the cross, my body being missed from the tomb in which it had been laid, 
notwithstanding its being closely watched, the very persons who had 
procured my crucifixion as an unauthorized assumer of Divine Authority, 
instead of being led to believe they had made a mistake and thereby 
rejected the very Messiah and Prince they hoped for, and I claimed to be, 
were filled with rage and torn with spite. They bribed the soldiers, who 
had faithfully watched, to say that they slept, in order that it might be 
said and believed that my disciples had stolen away the body. And 
what inducement could my disciples have had to steal it away, if I could 
not reanimate it ? My disciples were either deceivers or deceived. If 
the former, would they not rather have claimed one of themselves to 
have inherited my power, authority, and mission? if the latter, would 
they have desired to support their delusion by deceiving others ? No, 
my disciples had no object to serve, in procuring my body, that Joseph of 
Arimathea had not already secured by begging the body of Pilate, who 
had given him full control of it. They sought not its concealment, or 
they would not have placed it where it could be publicly guarded. They 
only sought to know whether it were to follow that I would raise the 
body, as I had promised them that I would, in order that they might have 
at last an excuse to themselves, if I did not, to return to their homes, 
saddened, indeed, at my fate, but rejoicing that they had escaped from it 
themselves ; for, up to this time, none but John had displayed any 
courage or steadfastness of faith in me, and even he was greatly dis- 
couraged by my at last expiring on the cross, from which he fully 
believed I should at last, and before death, have been rescued by a 
miracle. John, too, desponded, and feared he had been deluded by 
his friendship and his hope and his senses ; for he could not doubt he 
had witnessed miracles, but this one was yet wanting. So it ever is ; 
the age of miracles is never passed but when God withholds them. 
Man will not cease to call for them. But all that they can do is to refer 
you to that inward light, that Divine soul, that Christ in you ; and to the 
revelation which has taught and does teach it, and to the present revela- 
tion now making, which shall indeed surpass what has been before, by 
being fuller and more perfect in its aim and arrangement and details ; 
but it is from no higher source, only men are prepared for higher truths, 
and a medium passive enough to promulgate them has been found. 

§88. My medium has witnessed outward sounds as I described previ- 

9 



130 

ousiy. He has agam. since writing the preceding paragraph, witnessed 
them. But with no increase of faith, with no desire to have them, with- 
out wishing to communicate by. or through, them. The medium for 
the outward sounds was a good one. but neither he, nor the spirits, 
were aware That I communicated more to my medium in one minute than 
they delivered, or received, in the whole evening. The table was moved, 
but however interesting and solemnizing such an exhibition of spiritual 
bodily strength, or control of matter, should be. it was marred by the 
doubts and tests entered into by some who were present. The sounds 
of raps were distinctly given, but some wanted them louder : and for 
what ? Because whatever may be done outwardly, must be unsatisfying 
to the want of the soul. Reason maybe satisfied: the soul continues 
to crave. If the table is moved, reason is sausfied that the imelligence 
^and power that moved it is spiritual. Instead of asking that the 
Table should be raised, as this craving does, reason ought to say. AThat 
shall I do to be saved? This is the question all important to the wit- 
ness. This is the question these manifestations are intended to answer. 
But they will not answer till they are asked. Askj and ye shall receive 
an answer. But will that answer be always truthful, or even consistent ? 
As being, the answer of a spirit unregenerated. it can not be relied on. 
The spirit will not say it has received salvation, and it does not fully 
understand what it has not experienced. The spirit will say it is happy. 
So is man now in the body, even the most unreconciled to God : at least 
so far happy, that he does not desire to die in order to be happier. So the 
spirits who communicate outwardly are happy; but they are not so 
reconciled to God as to be happier. They are making atonement for the 
sins they committed when in the body, which sins left their prints on 
xhe spirit and the soul, and these must be purified and washed to pure 
white in the Blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. 
before they can enter the arena of True and Perfect bliss. And what 
was. or is. the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world ? It is the 
Power to serve God. which exists in man. which is slain by man, and 
whose Blood cries aloud to Heaven. This Lamb is slain by man, and 
its Blood washes out the sin of its murder, of its slaying, by means of 
repentance. Repent, and be baptized in it. That is, receive again the 
Power to serve God. by being again endued with Power from on High to 
serve God : which Power is the Power of Salvation given by God's 
Grace to man. Man generally crucifies this Sent of God again: and 
again destroys the Lamb of God. This Lamb of God is passive, unresist- 
ant, to the will of man. When man slays It, there is no resistance : 
when he desires It to be renewed. It appears. But where is the Blood ? 
and how are we washed in the Blood of the Lamb because the Lamb is 
restored to life by our desire, or sacrifice of will ? The Blood is on the 
will of the man that slew the Lamb. The desire that caused the will to 
act is the true murderer. The desire must be punished by atonement, 
which is required. The very realization of the desire is, in general, its 
punishment. If not. the desire continues and exerts itself, till, either in 
this life, or that to come, it does experience the disappointment and loss 
of happiness that its realization does give. Then the desire begins to 



131 

make atonement, which must be fully made. The will is bathed, or 
washed, in the blood of the sacrificed Power of God. The sacrificed 
Power, or Lamb, of God. again returns to life when the man, having 
made atonement for his desire's act, becomes the true seeker for God's 
direction. The act of seeking for God's direction is the sure regenerator 
of the heart of man. The Blood of the previous sacrifice of the Lamb is 
washed away, and the sinner's heart or will becomes pure, white as wool. 
The Lamb of God takes away the sin, because It is always ready to be 
offered up ; and the man avails himself of the sacrifice made by the 
Lamb, when he profits by It ; and he profits by It, or is washed white by 
It, when he becomes reconciled to God, and found worthy to be a servant, 
or Son of God, and receives the Lamb of God into his heart ; which Lamb, 
being the Power of God to do God's Will, the garment of praise is put on 
by the man who is born again into a new probation. 

§ 89. The Blood of the Lamb cries aloud from the earth, How long, oh, 
Lord, God Almighty ! wilt Thou not revenge us ? This is not the lan- 
guage of martyred men, as some have supposed; for such men would 
scarcely be supposed to have died for me, for the sake of the precepts 
and doctrines taught by me, if they paid no regard to the injunction, 
Love your enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use and perse- 
cute you. It is the Blood of the Lamb, one Power, but existing in many 
manifestations, that has been so slain, and is so crying for relief, so 
desirous that God should make an end of man's resistance by renewing 
the lives of the Lamb. 

There is in every man a desire to be saved with an eternal salvation, 
and this desire overcomes all others at last. The desire to retain his 
Free-will prevents the realization of the desire to do God's will ; which is, 
in reality, being saved. When man makes the sacrifice, God is pleased ; 
the Lamb of God is no longer slain; for when one sacrifice is made, the 
other is not required. The death of Abel, and the pardon from death of 
Cain, is typical of this. But the sacrifice of the power to do God's will, 
which is accomplished through man's determination to do his own will, 
is the only charge God makes to man of indebtedness. God continually 
calls upon man, as it were, to pay this indebtedness, by restoring to life 
His Power in the man's heart, or will, by sacrificing to Him the Free- 
will with which he is endowed. This, man may at any time do. This, 
God is always ready to accept : and by this sacrifice the Lamb is restored 
to Life, and the man's sin is washed in the Blood of the Lamb which he 
slew before, and has become as white as wool, though it was as red as scar- 
let. Then, being a redeemed and purified Saint, or holy man, and a man 
greatly learned and experienced, he is raised to be a Son of God by being 
passed through the remaining circles in the Spirit- World, as fast as the 
extent of his atonements and blemishes of his character will permit. 

§ 90. The great question, or objection, in effect remains unanswered. 
What is the meaning of this expression as used in the Bible, The Blood 
of the Lamb ? and what was it understood to mean by the writers of the 
rime, and readers of the time, in which it was written? It was then un- 
derstood to refer to Christ, or Jesus of Nazareth's sacrifice, and it was 
supposed, that as I had died for all, my death saved the sinner in some 



132 

unknown way. you say. i" say. the understanding at the time was. that 
I was raised up that all men might be saved ; and that men. to be saved, 
were called on to sacrifice their wills, for which the expression. Take up 
your cross, was used. 

There are in the Bible many expressions used which were highly 
expressive then, though very figurative. The course of preaching 
leaned very much upon figurative illustration in those times, as it has 
since ; and there came to be many set phrases, which were, in fact, 
allusions to long illustrations, each of which was well understood by 
those who had heard the apostolic preaching. But by degrees the figure. 
or illustration, was lost sight of, and yet the set phrase continued to be 
used, and acquired a more literal construction; and in many cases con- 
veyed thereby an imperfect or erroneous meaning. The expressions I 
have so long dwelt upon are of this character ; well understood at the 
time, they are now obscure. Entirely allusive and figurative in their 
signification, the literal or verbal signification can neither instruct, nor 
in other way profit the reader of their outside. Seeking to know the 
inward meaning is unnecessary, because there is abundant precept 
remaining unacted upon that is clear and unmistakable in meaning. So 
I will leave the subject for your present reflection, to be hereafter made 
plain to you in some other Book. 

This Book will be in two parts ; and three Books will be found in one, 
forming the Second Series, and published, like the preceding Series, with- 
out desire for profit, or any remuneration whatever to the medium for his 
labor, time, or attention. Freely he receives; freely he gives. He does 
not rely even upon the proceeds of one book for the publication of the 
next, but he avails himself of the facilities I afford him of advancing the 
necessary funds for their publication, without any risk to the publisher, 
who has no other interest, or control over them, than to sell such as are 
placed for that purpose in his hands. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



THE COMPENSATIONS OF GODS PROVIDENCE. 



PAET FIBST. 

Brief History of the Church of Christ. 

§ 91. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, was Paul's 
advice to inquirers, and to believers who inquired upon particular points 
of doctrines. Paul's advice was good. Does Paul's advice need indorse- 
ment, then, to prove it good ? No : Paul spoke by inspiration, and wrote 



133 

by revelation in general. But there are many different opinions about 
Paul in the present day, as there were in his own. There are also 
many different opinions about, or respecting, the Bible in general, or the 
New Testament in particular. I urge you to faith in all of it that pur- 
ports to be inspiration or revelation; but I also urge you to understand it. 
Not only to seek to understand it superficially, or its verbal meaning, 
but its internal or spiritual sense, in which its greatest usefulness is con- 
tained. In the early ages of the church this interpretation was, by man's 
reason, carried to so great an extremity that it produced a reaction, and 
the mystifications of Origen, and other Fathers, as they are called, yet 
exert an influence the very opposite from the intentions of their utterers. 
But, though reason is useful and should always be used, inspiration and 
revelation are both superior to reason, though they will never contradict 
it. Reason can never lead a man to acknowledge such as inspiration or 
revelation may give, yet reason will help him greatly to understand 
and appreciate them. Reason can not make a man discover the deep 
things, or correspondences, of inspiration and revelation ; yet, when these 
are declared to him, by reason he can appreciate and receive them. I 
am thus particular in defining the office and power of reason, because 
many are withheld from practicing the precepts of spirits, or receiving 
my revelation, because there are parts above their reason, and they truly 
say these are not reasonable to them. But they err in not endeavoring to 
elevate their reason, instead of undertaking to bring their instructor down 
to the level of the pupil. 

§ 92. Let us return to Paul. Paul was the twelfth Apostle, chosen 
by me to be the Apostle to the Gentiles particularly ; though he often 
preached to Hebrews, and others often preached to Gentiles. Yet Paul's 
greatest efforts and successes were with the Gentiles or Greeks, and 
Arameans ; while the others boasted more of their converts from the 
children, or reputed descendants, of Abraham. Paul's eloquence was of 
a high order; his appearance was mean, he walked lame, his stature 
was low, his features irregular. Altogether he was a crabbed-looking 
old bachelor, and when he advised as a man respecting matrimony, he 
advised as an old bachelor in these days would. But I chose Paul for 
my Apostle because he had learning, fluent speech, ready wit, and re- 
markable intelligence. He became passive, and I used him as I desired 
to, and with consequent success. 

§ 93. Alas ! that the Apostolic Fathers, as churchmen call the bishops, 
or other writers who lived in the time, or at the close of the time, of the 
apostles, should have been so inferior, so outward, so corrupt. They let 
his mantle fall to the ground; and, even before John had laid down his 
bodily life at the command of the persecutor, there were Fathers, as 
men would now call them, in the Church, who not only disregarded 
John's authority, but defied his power, and condemned his doctrines. 
Some would charitably attribute what they considered his weakness, to 
senility; others derided his simplicity, or openly professed that my 
disciples had not only misunderstood me in life, but after my death had 
not been at all distinguished for soundness in doctrine, or wisdom of 
counsel. The church, they thought, would be better governed and more 



134 

successfully advanced in power and extent by their reason, rather than 
"by the Apostle's inspiration. Already had the signs ceased to be generally 
manifested under 1 he preaching of my pretended servants, and even were 
often wanted, ineffectually, when my most worthy followers desired them for 
good purposes. But the past was no criterion for the Apostle's successors. 
They desired to extend the church to build up their own power, to estab- 
lish their own sanctity. It was not till the Third Century that the search 
for relics became fashionable. Then the Church began to desire to know 
what was first taught, and to reverence those who taught it, and all con- 
nected with it. But then it was too late : the reverence for the past fell 
to a superstitious outward seeking for Holy places, and remains of Holy 
personages. Splendid churches, elegant rituals, were established or 
founded. All became pomp, and what was wanting in vitality they 
endeavored to eke out by show of life. What was wanting in vital 
religion was made up in a semblance of veneration for what had been 
accessory to the foundation of Christianity. The power of the throne 
was lent to the honor of the Church's governors, and the funds of tribu- 
tary provinces squandered on the adornment of the seats of ecclesiastical 
dominion. It is mainly because of these circumstances, that so little is 
left of the early history of the church. The successors of the Apostles 
desired to magnify themselves at the expense of the Apostles, re- 
gardless of inspiration or revelation. To the Gospels, numerous as they 
were, no reverence was attached by any class of believers. To the Epis- 
tles, little regard was paid, as they were merely thought at the best 
good sermons. 

§ 94. The generation succeeding these, and existing about 150 years 
after my birth, were invested with the same faults, but greater ignorance. 
This twilight existence continued, with few more illuminated sections, to 
the accession of Constantine to the sole sovereignty of the Roman World. 
His policy changed the Church to a visible hierarchical state engine. 
He used it to secure his power, and lent his power to secure its establish- 
ment and general prevalence. He, too, assumed to be its Head on 
Earth : to be above all authority elsewhere to be found in it : and yet it 
is a question, unsettled by History, whether he had become even a mem- 
ber of the visible Ecclesia or Church at any time before his last sickness. 
He had, though, done this at a much earlier period in a private manner : 
though it was at the latter time done in a public and ostentatious man- 
ner. He was an ambitious man, stained by crimes and cruelties, prodigal 
of others' wealth ; and being, as he was, full of his own desires, he con- 
verted the riches and glory of the church to his own aggrandizement. 
His successors maintained their title of Great Priest, and the outward 
Headship of the Church, till a late period ; but they gradually lost the 
essence of their power to the combinations of priestly arrogance, that 
successively undertook to decide, by artifice and fraud, the great questions 
of doctrine and church polity that continually and successively rose into 
consequence. 

§ 95. This state of things was growing worse when the Arabians, or 
Saracens, overran Asia Minor and Egypt, the chief seats of corruption. 
The various German or Scythian nations, that overwhelmed the effemi- 



135 

nacy of Western Rome, infused new life into the people, and the church 
of those parts of Europe; and, though corrupt in form, and evil in tend- 
ency, the Church of Rome, as it has since been called, at that time was 
the repository of the learning, the piety, and the real Christianity that 
existed. Though it often happened that other influences controlled even 
the Church, yet, in the main, it taught the precepts I delivered when in 
the body, and laid up, for many of its sons, crowns of glory, eternal in the 
Heavens. 

§ 96. The next event of great importance to the Church was the ex- 
tinguishment of the Eastern Roman, or Greek, Empire, completed in the 
Fifteenth century, followed, as it was, by the despoilment of temporal 
power from the clergy of the church of Constantinople. This event left 
the church more at liberty to worship God, and accordingly it may be 
found that the church improved in its forms, and purified its doctrines 
and practices. Simony, or the holding of double-offices in the church, 
became less common j and, in general, as the church becomes despised by 
man. it grows in favor with God, because whatever may be the doctrines, 
or even practices, of the members of a church, God looks mostly at the 
motives for professing, and means for following its prescribed forms, and 
the desire the man may feel to serve God, or men, or himself. 

§97. Here we pause again to let every man ask of himself a reason 
for the faith that is in him. Paul was desirous that the professors of his 
day should look well to their foundation, and at this time it is more than 
ever important, for now God is showing, or having shown, forth to the 
world great manifestations of His Love and Power. God desires not 
your form of adherence to a church, or association of men, but a practice 
of the precepts He has caused to be revealed to you for your guidance in 
former and present times. He would have you serve Him, not yourselves. 
He does not take pleasure in seeing you worship with words, or acts of 
homage to him, or to attend your meetings in order that your neighbors 
may perceive that you do your duty. But He wants you to surrender to 
Him your heart, and listen attentively, in the cool and quiet hours of 
every day, for that voice with which He spoke to Elijah, and by which 
He makes Himself heard in the hearts or minds of all men who seek to 
find Him, and hear from Him what they must do to be saved. They 
must resolve to follow His counsel before they receive it. They must 
be willing and desirous to receive it, or it will not be given ; and so long 
as they revere men, or their institutions, more than God, they will be 
left to the idols they ignorantly worship. But ask, and ye shall receive ; 
Knock, and it shall be opened unto thee. Let every man be fully per- 
suaded in his own mind, and able to give a reason for his faith. If God 
is jour hope, I will be your help. If it be on me that you rely, I will be 
found ready and willing to dwell in you, and remain always with you, as 
your Wonderful Counselor, and your Mighty God. I will give to God 
the glory, honor, and praise you give to me, but I will also help you, the 
same as if you had addressed Him. If you look for another spirit, the 
Holy Ghost, the Word, or some mysterious part of God, to be your inward 
monitor, you shall not escape from me : for I am not tenacious of form, 
or nominal acknowledgment. All I want is, that you surrender your 



136 

Free-Will to a superior intelligence, that you believe to be Divine its 
origin and authority, and I will be with you to the end of the world. 
Now, I say, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind of what 
he wants, and who he wants to obtain it from, and what he will do with 
it when he gets it, and what he hopes to obtain by means of its possession. 
Thus shall you be fully persuaded in your own minds that I am Christ, 
the Son of the Everlasting God ; a truth that flesh and blood, man's 
reason, or teaching, can not tell you of effectually, and which, if you 
ever do know, you will know from my Father which is in Heaven. 
Shall I reckon you among the glorious company that eternally praise 

God, saying, 

Great and marvelous are Thy works, 
Lord God, Almighty! 
Just and True are all Thy ways, 
Thou King of Saints ! 

or, shall I seek only from others this acknowledgment? You will say, 
perhaps, that you are willing to accept of revelation made eighteen hun- 
dred years ago, but that you can not receive this, which comes without 
notice, or herald, or signs. I am equally satisfied, if you will seek God 
and do His Will under, and by means of, the former preaching ; but I 
have little hope that you will. Eighteen hundred years have obscured 
the force and varied the construction of language so much, that you do 
not, when you read, gather the true meaning, the sentiments I really 
expressed then. This is freshly given, and has not been transposed, and 
pared, and stretched, to suit theories, or maintain traditions, or sustain 
men's establishments. Here, you will fmd, I ask you to believe former 
revelation, and to practice the precepts I long ago gave to the world. I 
ask no more of you than that you should sacrifice your Free- Will : that 
you should admit me to your heart, and that you shall listen to me 
when you have established my residence in you. Hail to the Chief ! who 
will overcome all evil desires, who will put down all rule and authority, 
who will give to God all you give Him, and will have all things under 
His feet ; because God has given him authority and power ; because God 
will have all men to be saved from sin and death. 

Oh, Death! where is thy sting? 

Oh, Grave ! where is thy victory ? 

The sting of Death is Sin, 

And the strength of Sin is the Law, 
But blessed be His name who has given us the victory, 
Through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 
To whom be honor, praise, and glory, forevermore, world without end, 

AMEN. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE IX. 
Explanations of Scriptural Passages or Texts. 

§ 98. What shall a man do to be saved? This question I asked for 
you, and answered, in the First Book, and in every Book ; and yet, you 
will say. it has not been fully answered, because I have not told you of 



137 

some mysterious maimer in which it may be secured, or because I have 
not told you how to do it by some particular form of doctrine, or creed, 
or because I have not told you to secure it by some particular specific 
act, or acts. Any of these you think you could receive and act upon. 
But you deceive yourselves, First, in supposing you could act upon 
them faithfully and without help from God ; and, Second, in supposing 
that man can be saved by forms, or professions, or in any way but by 
that of submission to do God's will and let all else pass by as idle wind, 
that knows not from whence it came, or whither it goeth. Let every 
man be fully persuaded of this, and the work of salvation is not only 
begun, but it has already made much progress. You are already freed 
from the law of sin and death. You are already far advanced on the 
road to Heaven, and you will find the path strait, though narrow; direct, 
though somewhat obstructed occasionally. Still, that path can be 
traveled with great joy and pleasure ; because directly in front of the 
traveler is arrayed the Holy City, the bride adorned for her husband, 
and on every side he views contentment, peace, and happiness. The 
peace of God that passes all understanding is the very atmosphere in 
whi'?\ the traveler lives, and moves, and has his being. Being then, 
thus called, oh, man ! thus chosen, to receive God's bounty, reject not His 
Mercy, be not very faint-hearted, press forward to the High and Holy 
calling wherewith ye are called. Be faithful, obedient, humble, passive, 
and you will see God's salvation; be pure and perfect, even as I am, 
and you shall see God. Now, you can see Him in His works ; but then, 
face to face, as a man talketh to a friend. Has, then, God a face, which 
He wears when He talks to His Sons ? The expression is one of those 
figurative ones, to which I have before alluded. Paul used, when he 
preached, to have an illustration like this : That here, we should study 
to know God by His outward creation, and by His invisible manifesta- 
tions ; that hereafter, we should know Him as we know a friend, inas- 
much as He is our friend ; but that our bodily organization prevents us 
from seeing Him, or talking with Him, in an outward, or visible manner ; 
but, that when we should have left the body, we should so much more 
resemble God in form and substance that we should be able to talk to 
Him, as it were, face to face, as a man talks when in the body to his 
friend. The expression is a mere figurative allusion; and, being per- 
fectly understood by those to whom it was addressed, attracted no es- 
pecial attention. In process of time, the generation that understood it 
passed away, and when attention became again attracted to the epistle, 
after the commencement of the reign of Constantine, there was no mem- 
ory of the preaching to which it alluded. 

§ 99. Let every man be persuaded in his own mind of the truth, and 
able to give a reason for his faith. Fox any other kind of faith or belief, 
can do a man no good. A mere blind declaration that he believes a 
book, even if that book be the Bible, is no credit, or advantage, to any 
man. A living belief in its truth may be. A living belief that impels a 
man to act on its precepts, to endeavor to understand its meaning, to en- 
deavor to reconcile its apparent discrepancies, or even contradictory 
terms and declarations, whereby the man's mental strength is exer- 



138 

cised, his reasoning powers improved, his spiritual perceptions awakened 
to increased clearness; the windows of Heaven, as it were, opened to 
him by conversation with the ministers of God's Word, not outward 
ministers, but ministering Spirits. 

Now there are many who say, I do not believe this, or that, or the 
other, assertion or declaration, no matter how supported, because it 
conflicts with the Bible ; and yet, perhaps, the contradiction is only to 
their interpretation of the Bible. It should never be overlooked, that 
much doctrine passes for Bible declaration that is not, that many 
conflicting theories have their sole basis on what is imagined to be found 
in the Bible, but is not there found. A ] earned man some hundreds of 
years ago declared, perhaps, that such a formula of belief was the result 
of his study of the Bible ; but now, his formula of belief, and even the 
inferences from it, are thought to be the Bible itself. It is this error 
which has thrown more discredit on the authority of the Bible than all 
the direct assaults of unbelievers. Truth can be defended successfully, but 
error can only be maintained by crime or violence. Thus religious perse- 
cution arose, and thus religious wars were thought to be a necessity. But 
now, having a passive medium, I shall endeavor to elucidate some of the 
more prominent texts that bear upon the sectarian differences of those 
who desire, many of them, to be my servants; and which are stones 
of stumbling to many inquiring minds, that love Truth and are willing to 
go any where to embrace her. 

A SERMON. 

§ 1 00. The ungodly shall perish. This is generally understood to mean, 
that they shall, in some way, suffer an eternal deprivation of happiness. 
But the true meaning is, that the ungodly portion of a man's mind, or 
character, shall perish. It is better that a hand, an arm, an eye, or afoot, 
should be cut off and cast away forever, than that the whole body should 
perish with the same disease. Still more, then, in spirituals, is this true. 
If a portion of a man's life has been ungodly, (and who is there that is 
not this supposable man ?) it is better that his ungodly portion of life, or 
experience, or memory of it, should perish, than that the whole should 
be made to suffer forever, from contact with it. But, though figuratively, 
something like this takes place, the memory of that portion does not 
wholly perish ; it receives an antidote, as it were, by atonement. The 
spirit, in the world to come, seeks to escape from the unhappy state of 
unlawful desire. First, by its unlimited, though, as I have shown, 
unreal, indulgence. Failing to secure happiness, or relief, by this course, 
at last the spirit is persuaded, by the example or precepts of other spirits, 
to discard the indulgence of that desire, and to sacrifice its power or will 
to follow that desire, to God. Then, that much that was ungodly perishes. 
Another desire and another indulgence remains, perhaps many more, but 
at last all are conquered in the same way, and then, all that is ungodly 
in that man having perished, he is righteous and reconciled to God. He 
is God's servant, and finally becomes His High, Holy, and Perfect Son. 

But you say there is another expression connected by its subject with 
that text, and sanctioned by my quotation of it heretofore, that seems to 



139 

require a different interpretation ; and that is, that God does not desire 
the death of the sinner ! From this, you infer. First, that the sinner dies 
in spite of God's unwillingness, or. at least, want of desire, that he should ; 
Second, that he meets with a fate that he might avoid if he tried to : and. 
Third, that if he tries to, he will have God's help and mercy. In all 
these I agree with you. But then, you further infer, from your inferences 
on this and other texts, that, when the sinner dies. God is accessory to his 
condemnation: and that he is punished because he dies, and that the 
punishment is an eternal torture. These last, I disagree with: First, 
God does not will or desire the death of the sinner, who. therefore, dies by 
his own will, or desire improperly exerted. Second, the death of the 
sinner takes place by a law of God made for his benefit ; for we can not 
conceive of God making laws to injure His creatures or children. The 
death, then, can not be eternal, or the man could not be benefited by it. 
Third, the sinner having died by his own will, and God's will being that 
he should not die, if He has any will about it. the simier may live by 
yielding his own will and coming to God. The death, then, can not be 
eternal torture, for we can not suppose the man would willingly continue 
for a moment in a state of torture. But, you say, I have admitted that 
spirits continue for a long while dead, or opposed to God ! So I do, and 
I also say that death is not torture, but merely deprivation of happiness 
by absence of God's Love and Harmony. The soul, or spirit, or Man, 
gets along with its own will, because it does not perceive how unhappy 
it comparatively is. but as soon as it becomes truly aware that there is 
greater happiness to be had, by merely relinquishing the imperfect happi- 
ness and becoming passive to God's will, a reformation, a reconciliation, 
takes place, and the simier. ceasing to be a simier, passes from sin to 
love, from death to life, from punishment to rewards. 

But, you say, it is declared, As the tree falls, so it lies ; and though 
these are not the exact phraseology, it might as well be rendered so from 
the original : and then, you say. There is no repentance in. or beyond, the 
grave. Now I explained a good deal of the difficulty attached to these 
passages in my sermons delivered by this medium, and published in my 
Second book. But yet. they were not made clear to such as were preju- 
diced by a belief in eternal punishment. Those sermons were rather 
addressed to such as did not believe in any. a doctrine more subversive 
of morality than the other, though less injurious to God's character. It 
is, indeed, rather, a conclusion forced upon men by a considerate regard 
for God's attributes, than warranted by any text, or combination of texts. 
The tree falls this way. or that way. and rises no more. So it is with 
man. Death of the body overtakes him, and we see him no more righted 
into existence. He goes down to the silent grave, and is seen no more 
forever. That is. of course, his body is seen no more, and as it fell it 
lies, a mere mass of dust, or earthy-matter. It shall never more live in 
that form; it shall never be raised, neither in this world, nor in the 
world to come. For. as it fell corruptible, so it lies corruptible : as it fell 
earthy, so it lies earthy: as it fell a dead body, so it lies a dead body, 
forever and forevermore. For it. there is no resurrection. That is all 
you should gather from that text. But there is no repentance beyond the 



140 

grave ! Is not that fatally contradictive of your position respecting the 
death of the sinner and fate of the ungodly? Beyond the grave there 
lies, to the spirit of man. another world. This we both believe. So far 
we go together. Then you would say, And after death the judgment ! 
So do I say so. Beyond the grave there is no repentance, I said in the 
Bible, and I say so now. The man who was a sinner, or ungodly, per- 
ishes or dies to God's Love and the performance of God's Will, and he 
does not repent and receive mercy. But he atones and returns to God. 
Repentance will not do, atonement is required. The time for mercy, or 
pardon for his transgressions performed in the body, is past. Death of 
the body closed that door of Mercy. God is so good, benevolent, merci- 
ful, that He saves the man, or the spirit of the man, from becoming any 
worse after entering the world of spirits, but He allows him to seek his 
own gratification as I have explained. By gratifying his desires, he 
atones for having formed them in his bodily existence. He atones for 
them by changing his desires to do God's will rather than his own; and 
God's will is that he should atone for the deeds done in the body. This 
is the judgment of God, and the spirit freely accepts the decree. The 
atonement proceeds by the spirit performing good works to recompense 
for his evil ones, by forming good desires where he had formerly cherished 
evil ones, and being willing to benefit where he had desired to harm. 
For instance, a man in the body has robbed another of his reputation ; a 
worse theft than a burglary. Having so far advanced as to have reached 
the Circle of Good Works, he desires to make amends, and he exerts all 
his powers under favor of God's will to make amends. But, perhaps, ere 
this time the wronged man as well as the wronger, have reached the 
spirit-world and are together. There they can forgive each other, or 
forgive and be forgiven. Yet the atonement must be made. The spirit, 
then, having it to make, seeks some similar case, perhaps then occurring, 
and makes atonement for another's act; not thereby relieving in the 
least that other's crime, or punishment, but making atonement to the 
injured one for his own act performed on another. Yet, there may be 
some act of so rare occurrence, as not to admit of this kind of atonement ! 
But all acts belong to various classes, and he can make the atonement in 
the class to which his act belonged. Besides, each spirit has almost 
universally many acts to atone for, and many too in each of several or 
many classes. The two grand divisions, though, are Hate and Revenge. 
True, Selfishness is the grand cause of all : but the two great parts, into 
which the worst manifestations of selfishness occur, are as I have men- 
tioned. But, you say, a man cheats, or lies, not from Hate or Revenge, 
but from desire to save himself from unpleasant want, or consequence 
apprehended, or experienced ! So it is, and there are subordinate classes 
which belong to the Third circle of the Second sphere, and the atonement 
is made for them after Hate and Revenge, belonging to the First and 
Second circles, have been atoned for. All must be so atoned for as to 
eradicate from the character every trace of its former debasement : but 
memory retains not only the crime or sin, but the remembrance of the 
manner in which it was atoned for, and the ample reparation it has wit- 
nessed performed, in part by the spirit of the man, in part by spirits pre- 



141 

viously atoning, and in part, or all, by God, who lias been pleased to 
prevent the consequences which would otherwise have proceeded from the 
acts of the man in the body. Have I made it plain to you now ? Read 
it again, and see if you do not understand it better than before. 

There is one case you can, perhaps, puzzle yourself, or others, with, 
a case like that of Mohammed, who, having been a rank impostor, led 
astray many from better faith, perverted religion, and devastated the 
earth, in its fairest parts, by bloodshed and violence consequent on his 
example and precepts. Yet, Mohammed was not all evil. He saw 
much to excuse to himself his imposition, and he scarcely can be said to 
have made men worse than he found them. I have before alluded inci- 
dentally to him and his doctrines, so I will pass to his atonement, which 
is now being made. He sees the harm : he is endeavoring to operate on 
the minds of his followers spiritually, to reform them, to bring them to a 
knowledge of truth. His labor is a Sisyphean one ; but he has the help 
of many who followed his doctrines, and of many spirits united by sym- 
pathy from having taught other injurious doctrines. The labors of Mo- 
hammed are pleasurable too, though so Herculean in prospect, and 
Sisyphean in effect. For he has now the consciousness of being actuated 
by pure desires to serve God and his fellow- men, and a consciousness 
that he is atoning for the sins he committed. But he does not know, so 
fully as God and higher spirits know, that atonement is required not in 
proportion to the harm done, the evil consequences following, or continu- 
ing to follow, but in proportion to the sin of the heart. The heart may 
be sooty black with sin, and yet the acts committed may have been 
harmless in their results. Again, evil consequences seem sometimes to 
flow from good desires and intentions to act only for good. It is not the 
consequences to others, which must be atoned for in reality, but the men- 
tal or spiritual consequences to the actor or criminal himself. So Mo- 
hammed might easily be no more criminal than he who embraced his 
religion, as it is called, without belief in its truth, and made it merely a 
cover for his own gratification in some kind or kinds of selfishness. 
Even such may be found in Christian churches, thus actuated, and such 
are as guilty as Mohammed, and the atonement required of them will be 
equally fearful and appalling in its extent and labor. So search well 
into your hearts, see on what foundation you stand; for the time, the 
fire, will come and try every man's work, and its quality will be evident 
to all the world of spirits, to the man himself, and to God. Be, then, 
sure that you lay a good foundation, and that the superstructure can 
withstand fire from Heaven. The fire from Heaven is the consuming fire 
of God's Love which will not let sin exist, or the sinner die, eternally. 
But the recovery, and the purification, is a punishment, though it is of a 
different character from any thing which is visible to earthly observation, 
and is only from everlasting to everlasting, instead of being unendingly 
eternal. 



142 



CHAPTER X. 



THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



PART FIRST. 

Deficiencies of Mediums of Revelation. 

A SERMON. 

§ 101. Lest any should say that I avoid the main question, and 
endeavor to select only such texts as are easily molded to my theory, 
I will leave the selection to others, but lay down certain principles of 
interpretation, certain rules for imderstanding Scripture contained in the 
Bible, which I hope will enable all who desire merely the triumph of 
Truth to understand for themselves. There is, to be sure, no general 
rule to be universally applied, but there is a general plan which may be 
applied to any part. 

The Bible is a collection of the writings of different mediums or proph- 
ets, or of men desirous to relate truthfully some portion of history. Of 
this last character is much of the Old Testament. It does not profess to 
be inspired, but to be a compilation from other records, then existing. 
now lost. No doubt the original books would have been found more 
instructive than the abridgment or compilations, but they were too 
voluminous for a general use, and no one ever claimed them to have been 
inspired, or necessary in any way, to the welfare of mankind. But man- 
kind have chosen to consider the abridgment of these books as of Divine 
Authority, and a belief in the facts related and the inferences drawn, by 
their various authors, the priests of the Temple, for whose use they were 
kept, as gospel truths, equally necessary as in any other portion of the 
sacred volume. I dissent from this; and, as I have said before, take 
only such parts to be from God as claim to be so. A man who should 
write as from himself, what is given him from God for others, should be 
condemned for endeavoring to secure glory and honor to which he is not 
entitled. A man who should declare that to be from God, which he 
knew to be the formation of his own mind, is guilty of blasphemy. la 
either case he and his work, or the work through him is discredited : for, 
as to the first case, God either desired it to be known to be His word, or 
He did not. If He did, the medium or prophet was not faithful, passive, 
or obedient ; and therefore, unreliable for the transmission of Truth. If 
He did not, then, for some wise purpose, God. having declined to appear 
as the author or originator of it, but choosing to let it appear as the 
work of man. must desire that it should be regarded as man's work, and 



143 

not as His own. No one will say that God should not be allowed to 
choose in such a matter : and all must admit that it is presumptuous for 
man to declare that to be from God, which God does not claim, or ac- 
knowledge. But, in many parts of the Old Testament, the writer says, 
that the Word of the Lord came to such, or such, a man, or medium, or 
prophet; and that he then declared certain things, hard, perhaps, to un- 
derstand, being couched in very figurative language and obscurely left 
unexplained. As I have said, if the writer of the book did not profess to 
write by God's influence or direction, we are to suppose he wrote by his 
own, and that we are reading history, and not revelation. Some will say 
that the reception of it, and use by the priests of the Temple of Jerusa- 
lem, is evidence of its truth, and of the reverence we ought to bestow 
upon it. The priests of the Temple were not inspired men. When I 
was crucified, the priests were almost unanimously in favor of it. When 
the prophets of earlier time were slain, the priests of the Temple in 
general prompted the act. They were men of like passions with other 
men, and even the prophets were such men. David of Jerusalem, King, 
is regarded, and justly so, as a prophet. His Psalms or Hymns of Praise, 
are beautiful and lofty compositions : in them are many prophecies, of 
which most have already been fulfilled, and others will be. Yet David 
was, by his own declaration, prevented from undertaking the building 
of even the outward temple to God by the crimes, or sins, he had com- 
mitted. Because it will not do to say, the expression, Man of blood, does 
not infer crime. God is not so unjust as to punish a man for what is 
agreeable to His Will. It must, therefore, have been deeds of blood per- 
formed contrary to the Will of God, for which David was debarred from what 
he was desirous of beginning. Solomon was a prophet, too, and moreover, 
was a speaking medium, by which his wisdom has become proverbial. 
Solomon was far from being a pure-minded, single-hearted man. Oh ! 
but, you say, he was pure and perfect when he wrote his sayings, and 
undertook to build the Temple ! Solomon's reign was long, his acts 
were many, his apostasies frequent, his crimes flagrant, his punishments 
severe, his wisdom unintermittent, his glory as a monarch unclouded in 
the eyes of his people, his devotion to the building and adornment of the 
Temple unceasing. And yet, at all periods of his life he wrote by inspi- 
ration. Inspiration does not depend upon morality, but upon God's will. 
God uses such instruments as are willing to be used, when and as he 
pleases to use them. An attentive study of the events recorded of Solo- 
mon, and of the books written by him and yet preserved, will show you 
that I have fairly declared the principal facts bearing upon the question 
as to the medium or prophet being, necessarily, a moral man, a consistent 
liver and actor of the precepts he himself declares as the word of God. 

In the history of Jonah we have an account of a rebellious medium. 
Jonah desired his reputation to be maintained at the expense of the lives 
of all the inhabitants of a very populous city. Yet Jonah was as much 
chosen and called to perform that prophetical work or warning, as any 
prophet has been for any other work. Jonah was a prophet, and yet, 
even at the very time, and in relation to the very point upon which he 
had been inspired, he rebelled against God's will, and refused his consent 



144 

to God's Mercy. God kindly and affectionately recalled him to a sense 
of his duty. Yet you see that Jonah was by no means perfect, by no 
means a moral man. Neither was he continually doing God's will, or 
always capable of declaring God's Word. Mediums and prophets are 
chosen by God to perform particular acts. They have their missions, as 
it is often well called. They are ordinary men, but men who have so 
far become desirous to serve God as to offer submission to Him of their 
will, and to desire to act in His Will. But the sacrifice may not be com- 
plete, and the man does not lose the power of acting in his own Free- 
Will. Whenever he ceases to sacrifice his will to God, he resumes its 
exercise. He may even continually sacrifice it upon certain duties or 
calls, relating to his mission, but he does not thereby affect other duties 
or performances, where he does not submit his whole heart to God. 
Indeed, you yourselves were obliged to acknowledge this, as a conse- 
quence of the fact that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God. You always have claimed that I was the only perfect man, that I 
could not have been that perfect man but for circumstances which gave 
me superiority over others, and advantages others could not and can not 
possess ! But you will, perhaps, say that God will not let his chosen 
servants fall from the work or mission he confers on them, at least, so as 
to err in relation to that part of their actions, and that Jonah's case sus- 
tains your position, instead of disproving it ! There is some plausibility 
in this argument, because God is not so continually making mistakes as 
to be disappointed in the will of the medium, or prophet. The man is 
tried before his work is assigned. Many are called, hut few are chosen. 
There is the meaning of this long-discussed text. Paul was called and 
chosen. Peter was called, but he was not chosen till after my ascension. 
He was obedient to his call then, but would only act up to a certain line. 
Beyond that he would not do God's work. Yet he had been chosen. 
What then should God do? Kill Peter for disobedience, discredit his per- 
formed work by taking from him all further power or authority? or 
should God exert His power to aid Peter to see his duty, and strengthen 
any resolution he might form to do that duty ? It was the latter which 
God did, and I leave you to say, if you desire to, how God could have 
done better. God had called and chosen Peter to preach the Gospel of 
Glad Tidings of Great Joy to all men, but Peter preached at first only to 
Hebrews. He would not urge any to be believers in Christ without 
being first believers in Moses. He would not proclaim the glorious 
liberty of the Gospel, but kept back the Divine promptings which im- 
pelled him often to do so, till, by a miraculous vision, his eyes were 
opened to further sight, and his mind could perceive that of a truth 
God was no respecter of persons. Then he could continue to be God's 
servant and preacher, and could pursue his mission in God's will and 
under His influence successfully: though, before the vision, had the 
preacher of that wonderful and miraculous sermon of the day of Pente- 
cost been asked, whether Cornelius could be baptized, he would have 
said, "No, not unless he first shall be circumcised and become a Jew.' ? 
So, you see, a prophet or medium is not necessarily truthful, even upon 
questions intimately connected with the most striking parts of their 



145 

mission, or the work they may be engaged in. Believe, then, the sayings 
of God's inspired servants or mediums no further than they declare 
them to be given them from me. or from God. The difference, I have 
explained to you, is no difference, for God always acts upon man by His 
agents, or spirits, or Sons, and not directly. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEK X. 

The Word, and the Word of God. 

§ 102. There is one other passage to be thus referred to before we 
leave this branch of our subject, and that is the age of the world of 
spirits . The worlds of matter existed a long period of time before the 
spirits or souls from Paradise entered any of them, because the worlds 
of matter were unfit for the habitation of any animal, and man was not 
produced till there had been a long progression of animals toward his 
perfect form. Not to his perfect form, but toward it. I shall hereafter 
be more particular to limit you in drawing inferences from what I have 
declared than I have been, because, as I draw near my closing periods, 
I desire to establish a firm foundation for you to build upon, and the 
limits of the building must be well defined, or you will be spending your 
strength in forming erections that will be unstable. 

$ 103. The long course of our labors in this department has fatigued 
my medium, and I mean to give him a resting time after the close of 
this Series. He has not shown an unwillingness to proceed, for if he 
had I could not have gone on. But he has dared to complain of working 
hard at it, when I have sustained his strength and health to its full 
average tone, and left him entirely at liberty to perform all his business 
and social duties, so that, in fact, he has only written when he desired to, 
or when he was unwilling to disappoint his own expectation that I 
desired him to write. This I have not done to so great an extent as he 
has supposed. Nevertheless, he has not exerted his will or desire that I 
should write any more, or any differently, from what I might please to, 
but he has been more anxious for the progress of the book than I have. 
This is because I am not ready to have it published for some time yet, 
and the book could as well wait unwritten as written. It will now, 
however, soon be ready for the printers, though it will not be delivered 
to them nearly so soon. Hereafter there will be much discussion 
about the manner in which this book has been delivered and received : 
how much my medium contributed to its form or arrangement, how 
much was predetermined and executed by me, and how far I allowed 
circumstances, transpiring during its progress, to affect its subject, and 
the treatment of its subject. But, at present, the light shines into the 
darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not. Soon it will lighten 
th6 darkness, and, unless I limit your intentions to revere the medium of 
transmission, some approaches to the superstitions already prevalent 
respecting the founders or promulgators of Christianity, may and will be 
formed. 

10 



146 

$ 104. The Spirit- world, matter was created immediately after the 
creation and placement of Earthy-matter, and the placing of matter of 
all kinds was an act of the "Word. 

§105. The Word, was the minister or servant of God in doing His 
Will, in placing the worlds as they were placed, in establishing such 
laws or relations of matter as carried them forward to their present 
state. The "Word, was God's right hand of Power, so often spoken of 
in the Old Testament, and the icord of the Lord, spoken of by the prophets, 
was only the manifestation of God's will or revelation w r ithin man, and 
to man. It is thus that many words are used in a different sense in the 
earlier, or Old Testament, portion of the Bible, from that which they 
properly convey in the New Testament part. The revelation of God's 
will, when expressed in words, becomes God's- word, but not the Word 
of God. That is, God expresses Himself by His Spirits, or agents, oi 
Christs, or Sent Sons, to His created spirits in lower states of existence, 
and this expression is perfectly adapted to their comprehension. To 
men in the body words are used, to spirits in the lower spheres thoughts 
are given, to higher spirits ideas are conveyed, to Sons, High and Perfect, 
Sons, God's thoughts are known without expression, by their being in 
perfect unity and harmony with Him. It is thus that the expression of 
God's word, taking the form of revelation, is always conformed to the 
mode of speaking among those to whom it is given, the Scriptures of 
the Old Testament being adapted to the Hebrew people, by using such 
metaphors and illustrations as they would understand, and by understand- 
ing be helped to understand what God designed to have them know. It 
is thug that many allusions exist, in those books, which seem to suppose a 
condition of facts contrary to what science in these days has ascertained 
to be true, and apparently disagreeing with what I now assert. How 
much of this is also yielded to a desire that you may understand you 
can not know, as from the nature of the case you can perceive must be ; 
but, inasmuch as I have explained to you so much more of the nature 
and relation of matter, spirit, soul, and God, you will correctly believe 
that such compliances, to your mode of thought or fixity of belief, have 
been far more rare than ever before. There never has been a time 
when knowledge was so generally diffused, or when the means for further 
spreading knowledge were so easily commanded. Shall not God use 
what He has given to men for their use ? Shall not the Giver be al- 
lowed to improve and make valuable, more valuable, the gift, by conferring 
upon men the greatest of all gifts, Knowledge of themselves ? It is, 
therefore, not extraordinary that God should add, to the gift of news- 
papers and cheap books, a dissemination of His word by means of them. 
The word He gave to the Jews, twenty-five hundred to thirty-five hun- 
dred years ago, had to be laboriously prepared and copied by In 
the rudeness of those times the peril attending its possession, and this 
labor, of multiplying copies, was so great, that few desired to obtain them 
by making the necessary sacrifice, but had to be content to hear them 
read, at stated times in portions, and periodically in full. Even this 
privilege could only be enjoyed by a sacrifice of time, difficult to make in 
many instances, and impossible to be made in all. It is evident, then, 



147 

that brief accounts, easily understood and so forcibly expressed as to be 
impressed deeply on the memory, were best adapted to this period of 
Jewish History. At the time of the promulgation of my Gospel, as it 
is properly distinguished My Glad Tidings of Great Joy. the labor of 
disseminating manuscripts was somewhat reduced ; but yet, it was a 
great obstacle to the preservation of the purity of the writings then in 
existence that the number of copies were so few. It was thus expedient 
that, then, brevity should be studied, and obscurity was not always 
avoided at its sacrifice. But the language of the Greeks, having suffered 
less change than Hebrew, and the extent of the population using that 
language, and the wealth of the people in the early days, permitted 
a better preservation of the purity, and the understanding of the meaning, 
of the record. Still, the delivery of the word was at that time oral in 
nearly all cases ; and the consequence was that it passed through the 
reason or intellect of man by man's will, and, though that will was to 
relate the exact truth, in many cases the exact form of expression had 
been lost. This is not wonderful when it is remembered that from 
twenty to forty years elapsed between the delivering and the recording 
of my expressions. In this day men would not remember so well, but 
then memory was more relied on, and better exercised in general among 
the whole people, than now it is by any class of the population. The 
people had listened with great attention to my discourses, and the words, 
addressed to those on whom, or on whose friends, miracles were wrought 
naturally made deep and lasting impressions. They were, indeed, 
treasured up for relation to children and grandchildren : and the very 
manner of delivery, the tone and the gesture, the look and the voice, 
remembered and related with great particularity and exactness, in many 
instances. Those who afterward wrote accounts of these discourses and 
actions, now called Gospels but not properly so called, went about col- 
lecting, from the most authentic sources, the history of my ministry. In 
this way it happened that each was incomplete in details, and that there 
were even slight discrepancies in the different accounts. For those, who 
did this work, did it in their own wills, and God is not answerable for 
their errors. They did not profess to write other th«an history, or to 
have inspiration for it. Yet, in the main, they performed their task 
well, and God did reward them, by influencing them, in many times and 
periods of doubt or misgiving. He, also, did influence pious men to 
regard as worthy of preservation and careful copying what had been 
thus written. So, when the Biblical student investigates, he finds a most 
extraordinary preservation of purity, and agreement between the accounts 
of these different historians, and that it is possible, by an earnest study 
of the language of the originals, the manners, customs, modes of thought 
and expression, among Greeks. Jews, and Arameans or Syrians proper, 
or Phenicians, to arrive at a clear conception of the meaning and knowl- 
edge of the authors of the Histories. Bat, when he would go beyond this 
and endeavor to ascertain in addition what I intended to convey when I 
used the recorded expressions, he finds reason and study are no longer 
>«afe guides. He must seek a more pure light than reason, a more sure 
guide than tradition. That suide and that light I can furnish, and I 



148 

have furnished to a very considerable extent in these Books, and I shall 
give more. 

§ 106. But, some will say, why could not or did not God confer upon 
mankind a knowledge of printing, if that is so important an aid in pre- 
serving and extending a knowledge of revelation ? Thou fool ! God 
works by agents, He works by means, He works upon man only spiritually, 
and for spiritual ends. He has endowed man with powers of action and 
contrivance, and given him full authority to use them. He even helps 
him use them,, when he appeals to Him for help. But He does not work 
for him. He only lets man work and use the faculties He has bestow- 
ed upon him; but He will help when He is asked, and give when 
begged of. Seek, and you shall find, is true in respect to art, science, 
business, social relations, and religious forms or doctrines. Ask God for 
help, and for such help as you want, and He will give it to you, provided 
you ask from good motives, for good ends, for what will not injure 
your brother, your neighbor, your enemy. Desire God ; s help to benefit 
mankind, and you will get it ; desire it for your selfish gratification, and 
you may, or may not. If you do get it, then it will be as spirits have all 
they desire to show them that it is not worth having. So. ask as you 
desire to have; and, as your desire is, so shall be your reward by 
reception. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE PRESENT REVELATION, 



PART FIRST. 

My Medium- 's Preparation^ 

$ 107. The last Chapter having been devoted to explanations of the 
Bible, or former relations, this one is devoted to explanations of this and 
other books comprising present revelation through this medium, that is 7 
through L. M. Arnold, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 

There was long in the mind of this man. my medium, a desire to know 
truth for its own sake, or that he might accept it. For this end he search- 
ed the Scriptures, he visited churches of other sects, he feared not to 
hear all sides, and was himself without fixed principles of action. His 
instability, in this respect, led him into many inconsistencies and foolish, 
not to say sinful, acts. But yet, his very vacillation to one or the other 
side of belief or doubt, of skepticism or reverence, served in the end to 
qualify him to be a very useful servant in this present delivery. Long 
and earnestly had he sought, from having had no belief in his youth 
till he was wavering between orthodoxy and universalism (as men call 



149 

them), with a most decided leaning to all of the former but eternal 
punishment. Having found, or believed he had found, his life preserved 
in many perils, his hand stayed at many critical moments, he believed 
God did care for him, even as I had declared God cared for all His 
creatures but mostly for man. If, then, God cared for him he could not 
believe a sincere desire, to comply with all God might require for eternal 
salvation, would be left without a knowledge of what he might do to be 
saved ; and, that if no work was required, but only belief, he was de- 
sirous equally to know what belief was required, and to weigh the claims 
of every creed, and rely on God's help to find the right one. He also 
felt a conviction that God's mercy was not restricted to the professors 
of any creed, seeing that so small a portion of the world are united upon 
any, and that God takes no pleasure in the condemnation of his children 
or creatures. His faith in God's Mercy, then, was so great that he was 
willing to rest all on that: and believe, that God knowing his desires, 
both before and after his expression of them, his desires to do. or believe, 
or assert, whatever God would convince him, or let him find out was 
acceptable to Him or required by Him, and giving him after all no 
direction, or none that he knew of, He would, in His infinite mercy, 
raise him to mansions of bliss, of which he fully believed there were 
many. He also felt this conviction so strongly that the perils, from 
which he believed himself delivered, never disturbed his fears, never 
aroused alarm, because death was contingent. Though never reckless, 
always disposed to be cautious, and avoid even appearances of danger 
not required to be encountered, there was never any flinching from the 
consequences of the circumstances in which he found himself, when 
exposed to danger of bodily injury or death. But there was a far greater 
fear of loss of property than of life, and his prudence in respect of the 
latter, always, was most prominently developed when prompted by the 
former. 

Such was this man when I withdrew from him his First-Born. a 
lovely boy of nearly three years of age ; the first severe blow he ever 
experienced from the hand of death. He had lost relatives, but circum- 
stances had conspired to relieve his heart from deep affliction in conse- 
quence of it. This sudden deprivation of his heart's most cherished 
treasure was soon succeeded by a still more earnest desire to know God's 
Will and do it. He laid the body of his son in the grave without a tear. 
Before the burial the struggle for resignation was finished, and composure 
took the place of despair. But, though the past was never forgotten, the 
joy of hope was not fully realized till he read the account of the first 
exhibitions in public, at Rochester, of the Spiritual Manifestations. Having 
then declared it to be the most interesting announcement which had 
taken place for eighteen hundred years, he eagerly sought to know more, 
then to experience more, till, as I have before related, his hand was 
moved as a writing medium. Having conducted him through a long 
course of training, occupying a year a week and a day. I seated him 
at a table, pencil in hand, to commence the First Book published by him 
of my Revelation : he knowing no more of its contents than any one who 
ha.s heard its title onlv can divine, and that is nothing at all. He com 



150 

menced and proceeded, he proceeded and completed, its reception. He 
read it himself to others as I directed, and in defiance of persuasive 
threats, and pleading affection, he published it to the world. The rest is 
before you, if you have read the books that preceded this; and if you 
have not, you will do well to without delay, for they are, and ever will 
be, the alphabet of spiritual knowledge of the present manifestations of 
God's Will and Power. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEK XL 

My Medium 1 s Performance. 

§ 108. The account I have given you of my medium, will show you 
that he is not better than another, as a man having relations of duty to 
God and to his fellow-men. But, that his combination of character and 
of belief, religious or sectarian, was such that, combined with an ordinary 
intellect, a very common education and a general acquaintance with 
life, or the world as it is called, fitted him for this especial work; to 
which, circumstances of his life were ordered and prepared by me to form 
him into willingness to pursue. He is merely passive in receiving the 
communications I deliver, and exerts no power of intellect, does nothing 
but attend to my words placed within him, so that he is conscious they 
are foreign to him ; and as he receives them on his mind, he by his 
will writes them as I would have him, in such books I have directed 
him to procure. The First Book was an experiment with him and with 
me. If he had not been satisfied of the reasonableness of the First Book, 
of its pure morality, high knowledge, and consistent character, he would 
not have followed my directions to publish it, willingly. And, as I have 
said, I do not act through unwilling mediums. On the other hand, 
though I knew well the character and sentiments of the medium, I could 
not tell how far he might be passive, and how far he might desire to 
control me or my delivery, in some shape or manner, by the exertion of 
his intellect or will. His will is Free, but he voluntarily submits it to 
me and takes the greatest care he is capable of to establish his own pas- 
siveness to my will. He will have his reward in being used for the 
benefit of others. I shall seek other and better mediums to be used in 
other ways : but I shall not seek a better one for this kind of delivery, so 
long as this medium is passive, and strives, as much as now, to do my 
will in receiving, recording, and promulgating the words I direct to him. 

The manuscript of the First Book was written with a pencil, at odd 
moments, and in a great variety of circumstances ; such as rocking the 
baby, or holding his children in his lap, or watching their conduct near 
him. Yet, it was written without errors from these causes. The manu- 
script can be seen. It was not divided into Parts and Chapters till it 
was finished complete, including the Introduction and Preface and Title 
pages, which were written after the body of the book was finished. 

The Second Book was written in less than three weeks, occupying 
only mornings and evenings of business days, and the greater part of 
Sunday 5 or the First day of the week Not, however, to the exclusion 



151 

of attention to the ordinary duties of that day, as regarded by men in 
general. The Third Book was, in a similar manner, written in about 
ten days. The Fourth Book was written in one week, leaving the pre- 
ceding one to the preparation of the Third Book for the press. This one, 
will have occupied fifteen days for the body of the Book, leaving the 
preface and introduction and title page to be written hereafter, as well 
as the headings of chapters and parts. I tried writing the title page first, 
and the titles of chapters in their course in the Second Book, but it dis- 
turbed my medium's passiveness too much for continuance. But, you say, 
could I not tell what would be the effect without a trial ? I could know 
whether he would be disturbed, but I could not know how far his will 
would be manifested in controlling, or fearing to control, my order of 
arrangement. I have since divided the books more exactly into parts 
and chapters than before, but left my medium in entire ignorance of the 
subject to be treated of in each; so much so, that he has not even a 
conjecture sometimes, as to the subject upon which he will write, when 
he sits down and takes up the pen ready for me to begin. It is this 
which is a part of the necessary passiveness. A further manifestation 
of it is in being willing to receive any thing upon any subject, no matter 
whether it agrees with his previous opinion, or his expectations of my 
opinion, or not ; and to write it in any words I give it to him in, without 
changing a single word, even if it should not appear to him consistent 
with what is before written, or with the ordinary form of the language 
as used by men. In the First Book I tried him with this trial, and he 
came out of it unscathed. In the First Book I made some intentional 
variations to prove my command of my medium, and I have since used 
some forms of expression which will be carped at, but yet they are all 
defensible, though I shall not trouble you with their defense. There will 
be no lack of defenders by-and-by, and the disputes may better rest on 
these trifles, where objectors are disposed to contend, than on the more 
weighty parts of the revelation. 

§ 109. Having now given you a more complete detail of my course of pro- 
ceeding with this medium, and which, added to, or taken with, the preced- 
ing notices of it in other already published books, is sufficient, I shall 
close this part of my subject with a brief notice of the reasons which 
induced me to adopt the familiar style I have used, and to show you the 
reasons which make it so much differ from former revelations in style of 
expression. 

The former revelations were addressed to hearers, rather than readers. 
Terseness and vigor of expression were requisite to their best impression 
and retention upon, and by, the individuals who heard them. The style 
of language, in those times and countries, was usually highly ornamented 
with metaphors, and simile was used in ordinary conversation to an extent 
hardly appreciated even by reflecting minds who have looked into the 
subject. My discourses were adapted to the comprehension of the hear- 
ers, and so were the deliveries through other mediums in earlier times. 
Now, I have written (or composed more exactly speaking) in the usual 
style of easy composition, neither aiming at elegance, or superfluity of 
ornament, or falling into slovenliness of diction contrary to what men call 



152 

the rules of composition. I have desired to give my readers proof that I 
was a brother to them ; and, therefore, I have addressed them very famil- 
iarly, and assumed them to make objections in a very free, independent, 
and familiar manner. This is that you may hereafter address me so, 
when you commune with me in your hearts ; for, till we can carry on a 
conversation, as it were, within you, in which you shall freely express 
your sentiments and views as you really entertain them, and receive my 
answers merely as those of an elder brother transmitting to you the will 
of your Heavenly Father, you can not be said to enjoy the Holy Com- 
munion. Be, then, very desirous to know me better, and learn from me 
more, and hear from me directly ; for every man may have this com- 
munion who will open his heart's door, by the surrender to me, or to God, 
of his Free- Will. 

LET US PRAY. 

§ 110. Oh, Almighty Father ! who dost know all Things, and their Ori- 
gin, look down, I pray Thee, upon this Thy servant, this medium, and 
enlighten his heart and mind with a knowledge and love of Thee, so that 
he may continue steadfastly in the work whereunto We have called him ; 
and so that he may become a wiser and a better man, so that he may seek 
to do Thy will in all things, as well as in this work ; and to Thee, oh ! 
Father ! will I give the praise, honor, and glory, forevermore. Amen, 

4 111. Almighty God ! who dost from Thy throne display Thy Majesty 
and Power, and who art pleased to extend a watchful care and a power- 
ful hand to Thy servants the sons of men, look down, I pray, upon the 
Readers of this Book, with the light of Thy Love, and the bow of Thy 
promise shall appear as the result of their showers of opposition. Help 7 
them, oh, God ! to receive the truth, and to follow after that Love which 
Thou bestowest upon all ; and to lay hold upon the horns of Thy Altar, so 
that they may place thereon the one acceptable sacrifice of a broken and a 
contrite heart. Oh, God ! be pleased to manifest by Thy Power the truth 
of this revelation of Thy Will, for Thine is the Power, and the Will, and 
the Authority to Will, now and always, forevermore. Amen. 

§ 112. Almighty God! Thou art ever Merciful; and, but for Thy 
Mercy, we should suffer, Oh, God ! unending unhappiness. May it, then, 
please Thee to show forth Thy very abundant Mercy, and to look upon 
me, Thy humble follower, and would-be servant, with such favor, and 
bestow on me such aid, as will enable me to see and know, and under- 
stand Thy Truth, wherever I may meet with it. Help me, Oh, God ! to 
understand this Book, and those that have preceded it as a part of it, and 
make known to me, Oh, God ! by convincing my reason, or by some 
manifestation of Thy Power, that it is Truth, or Thy Revelation, if such 
be its character ; but if, Oh, God ! it is-only the result of the vaticinations 
of a deluded mind, or of an artful man ; then, Oh, God ! may it please 
Thee, make me to know it, and despise it : so that I may not be led away 
from the Truth, or suffer, in any way, by my desire to acknowledge Thee 
as the One True and Living God. The Alone One Author of All Power 



153 

and Being, and the Giver to ns and to me of Thy Blessed Son. the Lord 
and Savior of men, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whem, with Thee, be 
ascribed all Honor, Glory, and Praise, both now and forevermore. Amen. 

LET US PRAY. 

§ 113. There is. Oh. God ! one more petition I desire to make to Thee, 
as the Giver of good. Let me not be presumptuous. Oh. Thou Great and 
Majestic Sovereign of the Universe of Universes and all besides it ! let 
me be pardoned for appearing before Thee, if I err therein, Oh. God ! for 
Thou hast abundant Mercy, and I am very ignorant of Thee, and of my 
own relation to Thee. I desire, Oh,, God ! to know Thy will respecting 
my heart : how I may be able to bring it into subjection to Thee ; and to 
keep ever before Thee my desire and willingness to sacrifice to Thee my 
own will and inclination in all things, so that I may come to an accept- 
ance by Thee, and be reconciled to Thy Will, and found worthy, through 
Thy Mercy, to be received into Eternal Happiness, to dwell forever and 
ever in the Mansions of Bliss, which have been declared to be prepared 
for those who love and serve Thee. Grant my prayer. Oh, God ! because 
of Thy great Love, abundant Mercy, and rich Possessions, and unlimited 
Power, and "because of the promises of Thy Son, the Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, to whom, and to Thee primarily, be ascribed all Honor, 
Glory, Thanks giving, and Praise, world without end. Amen. 



CHAPTER XII. 



LOUD CALL TO ALL. 



PAET FIRST. 
Call by Reason. 

A SERMON. 

k 114. Having prayed for you, and made forms for you to adopt for 
your own, if you can, and if you desire to obtain such petitions, I will 
now return to the consideration of the loud call now making to men, par- 
ticularly and firstly to the inhabitants of the United States and Canada, 
or to all in America speaking the English language. 

It is to you, Oh ! Anglo-Saxons, either such by descent, or by adoption of 
the laws, language, and country, belonging to the race (it is enough that 
you are citizens of a country ruled by Anglo-Saxon institutions, and par- 
taking of their blood in its people), it is to you, Oh ! Anglo-Saxons, that 
this loud call is particularly made ; for you are the chosen people, 
already chosen and called to rule in righteousness and peace, the world 
of mankind. It is you whom I have chosen to be my subjects, because 
your laws, customs, and energies are all directed to the enlightenment. 



154 

and reformation, and improvement of mankind : not merely of a particu- 
lar rank or class, but of all, not merely that all may contribute to the 
happiness of a few, but that all may enjoy happiness here, and glory 
hereafter. Be, then, Oh ! all ye people, ready and willing and desirous 
to hear the word of God addressed to you, calling you to inquiry, to in- 
vestigation, to all possible efforts to learn the truth respecting the call 
now sounded to you. Awake, then, ye leaders of public opinion. On 
you first falls the responsibility of receiving or rejecting this call. You 
can wield the minds of others, and must answer in the day of judgment 
for the talents you received or procured the loan of. A strict account 
will be required of you for every opportunity of investigation heedlessly 
passed by, for every manifestation wasted upon you, for every inattentive 
observation, for every idle word or hasty conclusion, for all you have 
said or done in relation to this call or these manifestations, and for all 
you have left undone, that you might have done if love of ease, love of 
self in some way, either of home, or affection, or popularity, or reputa- 
tion, or wealth, or power, had not prevented your doing or desiring to do 
the work which every man is obliged to perforin, that is, his duty. What is 
your duty if these manifestations and this revelation are of and from God, 
as it is claimed, and as they are claimed to be, you very well know. 
Often have you declared or thought, if you had lived in Judea in the time 
of the ministry of Jesus Christ, that you would have left all and followed 
him, because he had the words of Eternal Life, and because through him 
the Father worked. But then, as now, the learned doctors, the leading 
politicians, the priestly order, the wealth, the power and the wisdom of 
the world, was opposed to it, and derided the claims of the medium of 
transmission, who claimed to be the Messiah who had been promised to 
them from the time of Moses. Wondering crowds witnessed the works 
and listened to words of God's Wisdom ; but each one in general returned 
to his home, declaring he did not know what to think ! It was wonderful, 
extraordinary, beyond his comprehension ; but the scribes did not declare 
his sentiments to be those of Moses, the priests did not declare him to be 
the Messiah, the Sanhedrim deemed him a dangerous preacher of doc- 
trines, and a claimer of authority and right, that would bring them into 
collision with an irresistible power. All of the past, that was in authority 
and respect among the people, rejected the man without sin, who was 
indeed come, and present to save them from their sins, to lead them to a 
more perfect knowledge of God and their relations to Him and to each 
other, and to purer and more perfect forms of worship and greater moral- 
ity, higher principles, nobler motives. Now, here is a similar manifesta- 
tion of God's Love for men, His willingness to teach them, and His 
desire to raise them from ignorance and misconception to knowledge of 
Him, and of their duties to each other. Will you listen now, or will you 
now, as the leaders of public opinion in those days did, reject Christ, 
deny his Divine Authority, ridicule his pretensions, deride his miracles, 
condemn his doctrines, oppose his teachings, and imprison or injure his 
followers ? If you — in this day of progress, when you have seen so many 
despised movements control society, or modify all the relations of life, 
and seen the arts of yesterday forgotten and superseded by the improve- 



155 

ments of to-day. if you who have seen such spiritual manifestations, in- 
comprehensible and unreliable as they were, usher in the dawn of greater 
knowledge and the revelation here made, — shall also reject without ex- 
amination, or judge before trying, what punishment shall be justly 
declared as your desert, what depth of misfortune or condemnation ought 
not to fall upon you ? Remember your station, your power, your respon- 
sibility. Look well to your acts, view well the foundation on which you 
stand. It will be no excuse for you in the day of judgment to say, Father 
Such-a-one condemned it, and I believed him ; Judge Such-a-one said it 
was not worth looking into, and I thought he ought to know. Priest This 
said it was dangerous to read the book, or listen to the manifestations, for 
they might draw me away from old landmarks, and I was paying him for 
good advice ; and last, but surest of all, nearly every Editor of a newspa- 
per , who had judged without examination, warned all of its delusive 
character, and pronounced it the contrivance of rogues, or the delusions 
and folly of simple-minded victims; and if these editors did not know, 
surely you will say, I ought not to be blamed for ignorance ! You will 
only condemn yourself by your excuses ; for they will show that you 
knew how from small beginnings, like a little leaven, or a grain of mus- 
tard seed, the thing spread itself till the great mass was leavened, and 
fowls of the air rested in its branches. You knew what it claimed to be, 
and what it progressed to be ; and yet you were willing to take the opin- 
ions of others for your guide in a matter affecting your eternal welfare, 
when you would not have taken the opinions of those same men respecting 
your temporal affairs. Go to ! thou pitiful specimen of love of ease, of 
self-complacency; go to! thou false worshiper of mammon. California 
could tempt you to traverse the world to see if a fortune might be obtain- 
ed, but the riches of God's kingdom and the glorious manifestations of His 
love could not call you away from the concerns of time and the thoughts 
of earth, the care of the body. How many have said, Go thy way for this 
time, we will hear thee again at a more convenient season? I mean to 
read the book, but now I am too busy ! To-morrow ! to-morrow ! to-mor- 
row ! Thus have men in all ages, and in every clime, put off the work 
of to-day. Death at last comes, like a thief in the night, at a most unex- 
pected time, when the soul, sunk in profound repose, has forgotten its in- 
tention to see that all was made secure against the time of his coming; 
and for that man the earth lias no more To-morrow. The grave receives 
the lifeless remains, buried with great honor and care, and parade per- 
haps ; but the soul, the man himself, is where there is no more repent- 
ance. There he may, however, work out his own salvation. But as the 
tree falls, so it lies. It fell in procrastination ; it lies so. It fell, say- 
ing. A little more sleep, a little more slumber; it lies so. It fell 
with desires to enjoy the delights of its own will till to-morrow ; it 
lies so. Long is to-day to that soul ; for there is no night. Long does the 
impulse to seek God lie dormant, overwhelmed by all the thoughts of 
self-gratification, and all the contrivances made use of to keep the peace 
of the earth uppermost. God wills that even this man shall be saved, 
yet, how hardly shall such enter the kingdom of heaven ; for they are 
rich in temporalities, they are poor in spiritualities. How soon shall the 



156 

regrets of remorse overtake you, oh ! departed soul of this procrastinating 
man? All but heavenly patience shall be exhausted, all but angelic 
wisdom will despair of it. But God triumphs at last. You will submit, 
and glorify Him who is beyond praise, and love Him who is beyond being 
affected by your love. Be wise to-day 1 Oh ! man, he wise and understand. 
To-day only can you work effectually ; to-day only is it easy to sacrifice 
your will, and begin your submission to God. He offers the riches of His 
grace, if you will dispose of all that wealth you have already laid up, 
consisting of perishable earthly productions. Come buy of we, and you 
need no silver or gold ; what I furnish, you may obtain without money and 



PART SECOND OF CHAPTER XII. 

Call by Prayer. 

§ 115. Let us once more pray for the humble-minded seeker, for the 
high-minded rejector, and for the would-be servant of God. They all 
with one accord make excuse, they all have some very important business, 
that may not wait for God's work to commence in them this day, and to- 
morrow will find them less at leisure than now. 

LET US PRAY. 

§ 116. Oh! Holy and Incomprehensible God; Thou art so powerful to 
save that Thou wilt not be disappointed. Oh ! be pleased to look with 
favor and with blessing, upon my appeals to this man, who desires to 
know Thee, but has not found Thee ; who desires to seek Thee, but feels 
unworthy to try. He is, Oh, Lord God ! humble ; and of such is the 
kingdom of Heaven. Be pleased, then, Oh, Father ! to raise him to Thy 
feet, and bring him before Thy Holy Will in subjection, so that he may 
join me in giving Thee the praise, honor, and glory, now and hereafter, 
evermore. Amen. 

Oh, Lord of Heaven and Earth ! Oh, Thou ! who art above all, in 
all, and Creator of All j be Thou pleased to bow down the Majesty of 
Thy Nature, and let this man see how very little he is ; how smaller 
than the dust his eye can not see, is his form to Thee, compared with the 
dust to himself; and, Oh, God ! when he is humbled by Thy power, and 
Thy condescension, be pleased, Oh, God ! to raise him to Thy Right 
Hand of Power, to an equality with me, to be Thy High, Holy, and Per- 
fect Son. Oh, God ! help him very much, for he has pride and thinketh 
himself somewhat. Be not fierce against him in Thine anger, nor severe 
upon him in Thy Pity, but bow down his knowledge before Thine, and 
his nature before mine, so that he may receive with humility the counsel 
of the spirits and the words of Thy revelation, and being so brought to a 
sense of his littleness and dustiness, as it were, before Thee, he may serve 
Thee as may be pleasing to Thee ; sacrificing his own will and acting in 
Thine, and leading others to come down from the high places, and to sacrifice 
in the depths of the valley of their humility. Oh, God ! be kind, and 
affectionate, and loving to him, though he despises me, Thy Son, and 



157 



not against him. for he knows not what he does. Be Thou pleased to be 
His God. and to make him Thy servant, willing to work for Thee, and to 
take the same equal penny which is the reward of every laborer in Thy 
field, whether his work continueth long or short time, and whether he 
receives the promise of it or not. Make him, Oh, God ! humble like me, 
self-sacrificing like me, and raise him to Thy power and Sonship, as Thou 
wast pleased to raise me : and to Thee shall be, forevermore, Praise, 
Honor, Glory Thanksgiving, and great Renown, world without end. 

LASTLY, LET US PRAY FOR HIM WHO WOULD BE GOD's SERVANT. 

Oh ! Father, I love this man. He desires not to work for himself, but 
for Thee. Be pleased, Oh ! God, Father Almighty ! to receive him into 
the number of those who continually wait to do Thy Will, and stand 
before the throne of Thy Glory, shouting for Joy. Amen. 

§ 117. Thus, Oh, Reader! do I pray for you. Choose for yourself 
which prayer you are worthy of, and that you desire me to help you to 
make for you. I have already made it for you : it now wants, and waits 
for, your sanction. It can avail you nothing till you make it your own, 
by adopting and fervently repeating it before God's Holy Throne, which 
has eternally existed, and is now near you, as it is near every man. 
Heaven is my Throne, said God by His inspired medium. Heaven is near 
you, at hand, as I long since told you. Turn, then, within yourself, and 
seek God; turn within, and you may find Heaven there, and the altar 
before the Throne all ready for the sacrifice of your Free- Will. Be. then, 
no longer fearful, but believing ; be no longer confident, but believing and 
humble ; be no longer led by men, but submit to God, and believe in His 
Revelation. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HOW TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH. 



PART FIRST. 

The Translation of Enoch. 

4 118. Lest any should deem my prayers tiresome, I shall give you a 
song of praise to relieve their monotony. For prayer is but a repetition 
of itself • and the one prayer, I gave the form of to my followers eighteen 
hundred years ago, is the substance, and essence, and vitality, of all pray- 
ers that ever were, or ever will be made. 

Great and marvelous are Thy works, 
Lord God Almighty ! 
Just and True are all Thy ways, 
Thou King of Saints ! 



158 

§ 119. Alas ! that man should be so blind, so censorious, so unwilling to 
practice here what he looks forward to, or professes to look forward to, as 
his greatest happiness. Alas ! that man, being permitted to enjoy here the 
peace which passes all understanding, on the very same terms it is offered to 
him in the world to come, should be so neglectful to avail himself of the glo- 
rious privilege, the high and holy blessing, which only his own will rejects. 
Lest any should condemn me for not urging man to be happy here, I will 
state, that all that keeps man from heaven here is the same that keeps 
him from it in the life to come: that is, his following his own will, 
rather than God's will. As soon as man begins to sacrifice his own will, 
his Free-Will, God begins to receive him as. a servant; as he progresses 
with the sacrifice he becomes more and more reconciled to God, and 
raised in happiness and glory, by which he becomes more humble and 
more desirous to serve God. He may even become a Son of God here, 
as I was on Earth, but only by a full sacrifice of his will. This full 
sacrifice is not impossible, though it has not taken place with any other 
than myself in the body, except Enoch, who was translated to the Spirit- 
world without tasting death. This Antediluvian tradition preserves, to 
this distant period, the memory of that Divine personage who served God 
so faithfully as not to be subject to the laws of common dissolution, but 
whose earthly body, like my own, was dissipated into a cloud of aqueous 
particles. Elijah is said to have ascended in a chariot of fire, a blaze of 
light, but this was not so perfect a transformation as the other. How is 
it, then, that these Sons of God did not arrive at the highest Circle of the 
Seventh Sphere before you ? They sacrificed their wills completely, but 
they had not done so continually, from youth to old age. You will 
remember that I only had one departure to atone for, but they had many. 
But in Enoch's case, he had had such a very much longer time to atone 
in, and the more perfect sacrifice having been fully made, by which he 
was translated as a Son of God, in which case it must be inferred he was 
in the First circle of the Fourth sphere, it would really seem that he had 
not gained much advancement, or privilege or power of advancement ! 

§ 120. Enoch was a good man; and, in the latter part of his life, he 
fully sacrificed his Free- Will, a continual and perfect sacrifice to God. 
But as there was much in his former life to atone for, and, as he had not 
the memory of the past to guide him in the Spirit-world, he became a 
servant in a lower degree, and having a more sensual and gross body, his 
mind had received a stronger impression from the departures of that early 
life. A very long period was then necessary to free his spirit-body from 
the stain or imprint of those departures from obedience. As I told you 
that there were Antediluvians now remaining in the First circle of the 
Second sphere, the lowest in the Spirit-world, Enoch was certainly 
greatly blessed compared with these. Yet, does not this reflect upon 
God's justice, that He assigned such bodies to spirits as would disqualify 
them for rapid progress ? He gave to each spirit such as pleased Him. 
but yet not capriciously, but according to its nature. Again, did not 
God make inequality, or show partiality for some souls or procedures, 
in thus giving them such a nature, as to receive such bodies as would 
thus retard their spiritual progress, even after they had, by sacrifice of 



159 

their Free-Will, become so greatly advanced in progression as to have 
been unequaled except in one instance, and that one possessing peculiar 
advantages from his exceptionable organization of body ! This objection 
is well put, yet it was that you might make this very objection, that I 
introduced, so unnecessarily you may think, this subject, which was so 
quietly reposing behind the vail of tradition, and which might have 
there been reposing still had I not so admitted every thing that would 
make its explanation difficult. 

Enoch was an antediluvian, possessing a soul formed for such bodies 
as existed first with souls upon planets so newly organized as the Earth. 
In all earthy globes there is a progress from low to high, from animal to 
spiritual, from sensual to refined. The first state of man when in bodily 
form upon the earth, thus newly organized, is always thus gross ; and 
the Spirit that enters it must be measurably affected by it. God selects, 
however, such spirits for these bodies, as need the more experience of good 
and evil to hereafter reconcile them to an absence of it. Enoch never 
ceased to be happy, and to progress in happiness ; but his soul, possessing* 
less Aura and more Individuality than mine, or other postdiluvians, 
required or profited by a longer experience in the body. And though, in 
despite, as it were, of the deficiencies, so to call them, of his organization, 
he sacrificed his will, that sacrifice was not any more difficult to make, 
than it is for you to sacrifice yours That sacrifice is always equally in 
the power of any man to make. The will is Free, and herein is the diffi- 
culty and glory, and from this is the reward of its surrender. But Enoch 
having sinned or been disobedient for the early part of his long life, his 
habits must have made his sacrifice more difficult ; and how is it that we 
shall adA r ance our spiritual happiness and progress so greatly as you have 
urged, if, after all, when we have by our sacrifice here been so greatly 
reconciled to God, we must lose the fruits of our sacrifice and service, and 
go back to the lower circles to commence our progress to the highest, and 
have all the atonement to make there, though we have repented here ! 

This state of progress is greatly to be desired. It is not that Enoch 
was put back, but that some have been put forward. Enoch was perfect 
as any man at the time of his death or dissolution of body ; but as a man, 
he was imperfect and required training and experience, which was ob- 
tained by him in the Spirit- world, as a guardian spirit to men on the 
Earth. But Enoch, so far from being retarded, in order that I might be 
the first to arrive at the Seventh circle of the Seventh Sphere, was 
greatly helped by me; for his progress was retarded by his want of 
knowledge, of purity of doctrine, and willingness to be instructed in his 
duties toward his fellow-men. Enoch submitted to God perfectly. He 
acted fully up to the light he had. He was released from the body with- 
out the apprehension or the reality of death and corruption of the body. 
But he did not receive such commands of duty as rendered him perfect in 
obedience with knowledge. He was perfect in obedience, because little 
was required of him ; and more was not required of him because it was 
perceived he would not have been able to bear more trial of his faith. 
God desiring to have an example of obedience before the eyes of men in 
order to incite them to emulation and obedience, raised up Enoch and 



160 

received him as faithful because he obeyed all the commands he received, 
though it was by God's Mercy that other commands, that he would not 
have obeyed, were not given. It was a state, or condition of spirit or 
soul, analogous to that- of my medium. He is obedient in the reception 
and delivery of this revelation : but he is not, therefore, any better than 
the average of other men, and being subject to like passions, he may 
indulge those passions in his intercourse with his fellows, in such a way 
that he may be far behind many who have never known of receiving 
spiritual communications. It is thus that Enoch was favored by God, 
and allowed to stand as an example of faith, and incentive to the emula- 
tion of succeeding generations : and was the purely obedient and passive 
medium of God's will thus gently exercised. But, then, was Enoch 
favored, or slighted, by this refusal or declination to try him with further 
commands ? This question I shall answer in my next division. 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTEE XIII. 

The Justice of God. 

§121. Enoch was favored by God's mercy, because he could not have 
borne the loss of his faith without falling to a lower depth of despair and 
wickedness than he had previously experienced, nor without at the same 
time causing a general abandonment of the worship of the One True and 
Living God. It was in his line of descent that the family of Noah were 
traced from Adam, and it was that family only, at the time of the 
Deluge, that retained this knowledge of God, or in the least regarded Him. 

§ 122. Noah, though, being a new production as to race, might have 
been impressed, you think, as Adam was with such knowledge, or a rev- 
elation might have been made to him, as to Adam, of his duties and his 
capacities. But the difference was greater between Adam and his prede- 
cessors than between Noah and his forefathers. God prepared Noah 
for his mission, bestowing upon him advantages which in a measure 
secured his obedience, not by force, but by persuasion; not by making 
him obey, but by making it easy for him to do so. For this cause, too, 
Noah, though a prophet or medium, and an obedient son in a disobedient 
world, was not so prepared for advancement as to distance all others of 
the postdiluvians. He experienced in a high degree the Mercy and For- 
bearance of God, in that God made it easy for him to obey, and he did 
obey. Thus God, without forcing Noah's free-will in the least, received 
him as an instrument by which He could maintain and develop another 
race, commencing the world anew, without antecedents injurious to their 
desires to obey God. The early postdiluvians were a moral and upright 
people, and it was easy for them to be so. They had, indeed, less tempta- 
tion to do wrong, and better facilities for remaining in the path of virtue, 
than men in the present day. God looks at the heart, and not at the 
deed. He rewards according to the motive, and the strength of the 
motive is shown or proved by the extent of the temptation. Where 
nothing is sacrificed, there is no advancement; where little is offered, 



161 

there is little to accept ; and the man who does not need help, is not he 
who is favored, so much as he who, perceiving that of himself he can 
do nothing, leans upon God. and calls upon God to support him in every 
time of doubt, in every period of trial, in every strait of temptation. 

$ 123. It is thus that God judges and rewards men, men judge each 
other differently; and it is for this reason that God caused it to be 
declared, That men should not judge their fellow-men, but that judgment 
is His only ; and that the uncharitable judger among men shall receive 
from God the measure wherewith he has chosen to try others. God's 
ways are not as man's ways ; though man would, if he dared, condemn 
God's want of reason and consistency, and His want of power (by His 
own limitation of His own Power) to establish His reign in the hearts of 
men. So, oh, reader ! do not judge God harshly, or impugn His Wisdom 
severely ! Be merciful to God as you would have Him be merciful to 
you! 

LET US PRAY. 

$ 124. Oh, our Father! who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name 
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. 
Give us, this day, our daily bread ; and forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us ; and suffer us not to be led into 
temptation but deliver us from evil ) for Thine is the kingdom, the power, 
and the glory, forever. Amen. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



WHAT SHALL A MAN DO TO BE SAVED 



PART FIRST. 
The Effect of Prayer on God and Man. 

$ 125. The prayer, or form of prayer, I have furnished for you. as I 
did for my followers eighteen hundred years ago, will never wear out. 
As I have said, all other prayers may be found in it ; and are but repe- 
titions of it. if they are made in proper submission. Therefore it is that 
I do not want you to lose sight of it, and that I have thus a second time 
dictated it to this medium. 

But the more observing will detect a variation in language or words used, 
though they will also perceive the sense is made clearer by it. For the 
forms of expression have changed much, as I have stated, since its first 
promulgation. Still, man is the same, and needs the same prayer; and 
God is the same, and will grant the same prayer. Yet it is necessary 
that the prayer should be understood by him who makes it his own, or 
pise, misunderstanding it, he will make a different prayer: for. in hearing 

11 



1 02 

prayer, as in judging works. God looks at the heart of man for his inten- 
tion, and if he imagines that he serves God by asking for one thing when 
he wants another, he not only undertakes to deceive God, but injures 
himself. For if he gets what he is thus ashamed to ask for, he finds it 
only a curse or unhappiness, while his outward petition condemns him 
by its reaction upon him. 

It could not be supposed ' that God would Himself lead a man into 
temptation, unless it was for the man's good, in which case the man 
ought not. to pray to be saved from it. I have, therefore, corrected the 
phraseology so as to agree with the original delivery, and the ordinary 
understanding of it at the present day, because some weak in the faith 
might otherwise find cause of stumbling in it. 

§ 126. The last subject of this book will now be taken up, and it is, 
What shall a man do to be saved ? What act must he perform, what con- 
fession make, and how shall he know he is saved, or what will be his 
salvation ? Having reached this point, where I can look forward to the 
end of this book, though not of the volume, I desire to state, that it has 
been written at the rate of five quarto pages of manuscript per hour of 
time spent at the desk with it for the purpose of writing. These five 
pages of manuscript make about two of the printed pages. Though thus 
rapidly written, an examination of the copy* to be preserved, of the orig- 
inal first record, will show that there are no alterations or corrections, 
other than verbal or literal, made in order to fit and finish it for the print- 
ers' hands 



PAET SECOND OF CHAPTER XIV. 

The Way of Salvation. 

§ 127. The man who desires to be saved, has reached an important 
position in his life : one which may be regarded as a critical one. Placed, 
as he is, in the vale of experience, it is here that he must be saved if he 
secures salvation by any other than Mercy. Works can be done here in 
a man's own will, by God's help, which shall forward and aid his salva- 
tion, though alone they could never secure it. God's Mercy, only, is the 
sure reliance for salvation. By that, in fact, all men are saved. All 
men have sinned, and without God's Mercy no man could be saved; be- 
cause he could not get rid of the consequences of one single sin without 
God's help. Further than that, he who has sinned little, or the least, has 
only been prevented from sinning more by God's Mercy, which has re- 
strained his evil desires, aided his good thoughts or intentions, and frus- 
trated, perhaps, his wicked intentions or resolutions. The only way, then, 
by which men can be saved, is by the acceptance of God's Mercy, freely 
offered, but contingent upon certain laws or rules, which man can easily 
comply with, or God can easily help him to find easy. 

§ 128. First, then, men must desire to be saved. None are, or will be. 
saved unless they desire it. Having desired to be saved, they must. 
second, be willing to be saved in God's own way. God, having appointed 



163 

the means, has provided a particular way for those means to be made 
universally available. But that way is His own, and no one, who is not 
willing to be saved in that way. can reach to Heaven. They may struggle 
to climb up some other way. or to break into some weak place, but all 
efforts of that kind will end in, only in, disappointment and affliction. 
Third, the salvation can not be regarded as effectual, till the man experi- 
ences an inward assurance that it is so. There is no danger of a man's 
being deceived into a belief that he has secured salvation when he has 
not. if he only looks at his heart, or his own internals. He may be de- 
ceived if he takes the word of his fellow-man for it, and seeks to be per- 
suaded by man that he is right, and others are wrong. 

§ 129. First, then, A man must desire to he saved, and this desire should 
be expressed to God in the form of prayer ; not because God does not know 
it without, but because prayer fixes and realizes to himself the desire, 
always, perhaps, latent in the heart or soul. 

§ 130. Second, He must pray to God to help him to comply with the con- 
ditio?! of salvation, which is, that he shall submit his will to God's. This 
sacrifice must be made before going any farther ; or, more properly speak- 
ing, he can not go any farther till he has made this sacrifice, and complied, 
at least in part, with the conditions fixed and required by God. How is 
this submission to be made ? asks the unregenerate heart. By seeking, 
First, to know God : s will, and Second, by yielding your own desire or will 
to it. If you feel impelled to indulge a bodily passion, an earthly motive. 
seek to know from God if it be proper, if it be in accordance with His will. 
Though you have never had communion with God, this course will bring 
you to a communion with Him ; and before you are conscious of receiving 
a reply from Him, by the communion of His Son with your soul or spirit, 
you will feel the impression of duty resting weightily upon your mind, 
convincing you of the impropriety of the act, if it be one of that character ; 
or your scruples respecting it will disappear, if otherwise. Remember 
that this inquiry is not to be of any man, or body of men ; it is to be of God, 
and made as an individual of Him, for yourself, and not for others. Neither 
are you to repine if you see that others, professing to act in accordance 
with God r s will, enjoy greater freedom of action than yourself. Remem- 
ber what James said, My brethren, count it all joy ichen ye fall into divers 
temptations ; for God trieth whom He loveth. and chasteneth His Holy Sons. 
Remember, that this is the only work you have to do, and that God is not 
only ready to direct and advise and guide you, but also is willing to help 
you, if you ask Him, and that He will not give a stone when you ask Him 
for bread. Then be not discouraged if sometimes the world seems to 
triumph, and God ? s servants appear overwhelmed. Fear not that God is 
not strong and mighty, nor believe that He has grown blind or deaf. God 
knows His own time ; and patience must do in you its perfect work, that 
the inner man may be renewed, and made strong : that you may not be 
like Enoch, raise.:! to glory here, to have to work far more arduously for 
glory hereafter. 

$ 131. Third. You shall know you arc blessed by God with a portion 
of salvation, ^iien you find you can sacrifice with cheerf illness your will 
to His : your comfort, to another's. When you love your brother, or your 



164 

neighbor, as yourself, and can even love your enemies, and do good to 
those who despitefully use you, or persecute or injure you. Proceed, 
then, on your way rejoicing, when you find this to be the case in you 
even slightly more so than it had been before experienced. Cultivate 
the desire to be saved, become more and more submissive to God, and 
this internal evidence will be greater and greater. You shall know, 
at last, of Heaven, even while dwelling in your earthly tabernacle. 
You will find that Peace which comes from Heaven; that Joy which 
the righteous only experience ; that fruition of Happiness, the Peace of 
God which passes all understanding of man's intellect, and, which is 
joy indescribable and full of glory. When you have thus tasted the 
fruit of all your efforts, the result of the acceptance of your fervent 
prayers, be no longer fearful, but believing. God has saved you. You 
are released from the law of sin and death, and on you the second death 
shall have no power. But be careful to let no man take your crown. 
Keep fast the faith. Be not deceived by your great enemy, your Free- Will. 
Be not induced to become the accuser of your brethren. Mind your own 
business. Let others settle with God. Do you continue to work for Him, 
and seek no other pay, than this same salvation which has already been 
such a rich and abundant reward. Be firm in the faith, abundant in good 
works, and rich in God's grace. So shall your light shine before men, 
that even they shall give God glory for, and because of you. So shall you 
be a beacon, a lighthouse, a candle not hid ; and your light, shining into 
the darkness, shall turn many from devious paths to righteousness. So 
shall you die triumphantly, declaring you have fought the good fight j so 
shall you be received up into Glory, eternal, everlasting, unchangeable, 
full of joy, world without end. 

LET US PRAT. 

§ 132. Oh, our Father ! who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. 
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven, 
Give us, this day, our daily bread ; and forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us ; and suffer us not to be led into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for thine is the Kingdom, and the 
Power, and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen. 



PREFACE 

TO THE SECOND BOOK OF THE THIRD SERIES. 



This Book will be written at a time not far distant. It will be a very 
interesting one. But its subject will not be thought interesting by many. 
It will be particularly devoted to the relations of Bodily Life in other 
planets and spheres, with those of earth and will comprise descriptions of 
some of the differences and varieties existing on the various planets of 
this system, and some others of the more remarkable varieties in other 
systems. 



INDEX, 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 

Pagr 
Title Page 55 

Introduction . 57 

Preface 58 

Part First, Seven Chapters. The Relations of Man to the Spirit- 
World . . . 59 

Part Second, Seven Chapters. The Relations of Man to God's 

Manifestations .• 122 

Preface to Second Book of the Third Series . . . .165 
Index 166 



SUBJECTS OF CHAPTERS 



Chap. I. — Of Life and its Embodiments ..... 59 
Chap. II. — Of Religion, or Man's Relation to God . . .71 
Chap. III. — Of Revelation, Past, Present, and Future . . 78 
Chap. IV. — Of God's Manifestation of Himself by Man and Spirits 87 
Chap. V. — Of the Manifestation approaching .... 100 

Chap. VI. — Of Spirits and the Spirit- World 106 

Chap. VII. — Of Progress here and in the World to come . . 114 
Chap. VIII. — My urgent Call for All to prepare for My coming . 122 
Chap. IX. — The Progress of previous Revelation by My aid . 132 
Chap. X. — The Manner of previous Revelation yet Extant . . 142 
Chap. XI. — The Coiu-se of this Revelation . . . .148 

Chap. XII.— My Pleading with Men 153 

Chap. XIII. — The Favors God bestows on Men here . . . 157 
Chap. XIV.— My urgent Call for All to be Saved . . . .161 



TABLE OF CONTENTS.— SECOND BOOK. 



CHAPTER I. 



Part First. — § 1. Creation and Constitution of Matter, 59. § 2. Descrip- 
tion of the Four ultimate Essences of Matter, 59. § 3. Spirit- Matter. 
60. § 4. The Soul-Matter, 61. § 5. The Word, 61. § 6. What is 
God! 62. §Y: The Word, 62. §8. Formation of the Soul, 63. 
$ 9. Formation of Spirit-Matter. 64. 

Part Second.— $ 10. Animal Life, 66. § 11. Vegetable Life, 67. $ 12. 
Lowest form of Life, 67. § 13. Life in General, 68. §14. Definition 
of Reason of Animals and Men. 69. § 15. Duality of Man, 70. § 16. 
Reliance he should have on God, 70. 

CHAPTER II. 

Part First. — $ 17. Inducements to serve God here, 71. § 18. Advan- 
tages possessed by Americans, 72. § 19. Mormonism, 73. § 20. Mo- 
hammedanism, 73. §21. Romanism, 74. 

Part Second. — § 22. History of Mohammedanism, 74. § 23. Fulfillment 
of Prophecy now, 75. § 24. Insincerity of present Professors of Re- 
ligion, 76. 

CHAPTER III. 

Part First. — § 25. A general Invitation, 78. § 26. Inconsistency of 
Mankind now, 79. § 27. Inspiration and Revelation have not ceased, 
80. § 28. Why these Books were not Delivered in another way, 81. 
§ 29. Why it was not written in the Spirit Form, 82. 

Part Second. — § 30. Qualities of Man in Paradise, 84. § 31. Limits of 
Paradise, 85. § 32. Restrictions of Souls in Paradise, 85. § 33. 
Knowledge of the Soul in Paradise, 86. § 34. Death, 86. § 35. Last 
state of the Soul, 86. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Part First. — § 36. Skepticism respecting Immortality, 87. § 37. Inspi- 
ration exists in unsuspected Places. 88. § 38. Signs and Testimonies 
of Revelation in this Book, 90. § 39. Rapping Testimonies to this 
Book's Truth, 90. § 40. The Law written on the Heart, 91. §4L 
How to arrive at Communion with God, 93. 

Part Second.— § 42. Relations of Earth and Spirit Minds of Man, 94. 
§ 43. Powers of Spirits in the Spirit-World, 95. § 44. Powers of Com- 
munication with Men in the Body, 96. $ 45. Origin and Progress of 
the Present Spiritual Manifestations, 97. § 46. Discrepancies and Con- 
tradictions of these Communications, 99. § 47. How to obtain Truth 
always, 100. 



168 

CHAPTER V. 

Part First. — § 48. Christ's Kingdom, 100. § 49. Outwardness of the 
Jews, 101. § 50. Duty of the Citizens of Christ's Kingdom, 102. 

Part Second. — § 51. How Christ's Kingdom shall be established Out- 
wardly, 102. § 52. The Signs by which it will be Manifested, 103. 
§ 53. The Signs of its outward Head, 104. $ 54. My Medium's state, 
and doubts assured, 105. 

CHAPTER VI, 

Part First. — § 55. Position of the Spirit- Sphere, 106. § 56. Classifica- 
tion of Souls in Paradise, 107. § 57. Divisions in the Spirit- World, 
108. § 58. Divisions in Paradise, 109. § 59. Innumerable Fountains 
of Bliss, 110. 

Part Second. — § 60. Various Kinds of Knowledge, 111. § 61. How 
Spirits are restricted from Evil, I'll. §62. Christ's appeal to the 
Reader, 112. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Part First; — § 63. Continual progress of Man, 114. § 64. The Way to 
make progress more Rapidly, 114. § 65. Prayer for Progress, 115. 
§66. Prayer for other's Progress, 115. § 67. Counsel worthy to be 
followed by All Men, 116. § 68. Review of Man's Being, 116. § 69. 
Review of my own Life, 117. § 70. My present Condition, 118. § 71. 
My Prayer for the Reader, 119. §72. My Prayer for my Medium, 
119. $. 73. My Advice to the Reader, 120. 

Part Second. — §74. My future Appearance, 120. §75. Signs by which 
I may be Known, 120. § 76. The New Jerusalem, 121. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Part First. — § 77. My Hymn of Praise to God, for the use of others who 
can Sing it, 122. § 78. My Sermon addressed to all seekers for Salva- 
tion, wherever they may be, 122. § 79. A Sketch of the Future, and a 
Prophecy, 124. § 80. A Prayer, Men in general ought to make, 125. 

Part Second. — § 81. The Coming of Jesus Messiah again in outward 
form soon, 125. § 82. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, her History, 126. 
§ 83. Objects of the Writers of the Gospel Histories, 126. § 84. Con- 
clusion of Mary's Life, 127. § 85. Be ye Perfect, even as I am Perfect, 
127. § 86. The Crucifixion necessary for another Reason, 128. § 87. 
Inutility of outward Manifestations. 129. § 88. What they should lead 
to, 129. § 89. Explanation of a passage in John's Revelation, 131. 
§ 90. Blood of the Lamb, 131. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Part First. — § 91. The relation of Reason to Revelation, 132. § 92. 
Description of Paul, 133. § 93. The Apostolic Fathers, 133. § 94. 
The Emperor Constantine and his successors, 134. § 95. The Roman 
Church, 134. § 96. The Greek Church, 135. § 97. Agreement of 
Past and Present Revelation, 135. 

Part Second. — § 98. Who are Called and Chosen, 136. § 99. Howto be- 
lieve the Bible, 137. § 100. Howto understand Texts, a Sermon, 138. 



169 

CHAPTER X. 

Part First. — § 101. A Sermon, on Revelation and Mediums in general, 

142. . 
Part Second.— $ 102. The age of the Spirit-World, 145. § 103. The 

Medium nothing of himself. 145. § 104. Creation of Spirit-Matter, 

146. $ 105. The Word and the Word of God, 146. §106. How 

God helps Men, 148. 

CHAPTER XL 

Part First. — $ 107. Life of My Medium, 148. 

Part Second. — $ 108. My Medium's reception of this Revelation, 150. 

§ 109. Reasons for its Style, 151. § 110. My Prayer for the Medium, 

152. § 111. My Prayer for the Readers of this Book, 152. $ 112. 

Form of Prayer for Readers to make, 152. § 113. Another Form for 

such as desire Salvation or Mercy, 153. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Part First. — § 114. A Sermon, on the present Call making on Americans 

or Anglo-Saxons in America, 153. 
Part Second. — $ 115. Who ask to he Excused ? 156. § 116. My Prayers 

for such, 156. §11 7. Where the Reader may find Heaven, 157. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Part First. — § 118. Song of Praise, 157. § 119. Advancement Men in 
the Body may make, 158. § 120. Example of Enoch, 158. 

Part Second. — § 121. Enoch's Favor, 160. § 122. Favor experienced by 
Noah, 160. § 123. God's ways, and Man's ways, 161. §124. My 
Prayer for All to make, 161. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Part First. — § 125. Forms of Prayer unessential, 161. § 126. History 

of this Book, 162. 
Part Second. — § 127. But one way to he Saved, 162. § 128. Three 

requisites of Salvation, 162. § 129. First, Desire, 163. § 130. Second, 

Will or Effort, 163. § 131. Third, Sacrifice or Works, 163. § 132. 

The Lord's Prayer, 164. 



THE 



HISTOEY OF THE 

ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS, 



CONTINUED FEOM THE 



SECOND BOOK OF THIS SECOND SEEIES : 



BEING PABTICUXAELY 



% pstaj of % |)rogtt$s of Pan's Spirit, 



IN THE WOULD OF THE FUTURE LIFE 



TO KNOWLEDGE 



IN TEN CHAPTERS 



"VTEITTEN BY 



% \t f mfo Jbts Cj}rist, fatrfg Jam of U^mijj, 



DELIVEEED TO MEM THROUGH THE MEDIUM: OF 



L. M. ARNOLD, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., 



ST&e TOrtr 23oofe of t&e Secoittr Serfes. 



IN THE YEAR OF GODS GRACE, 

1852. 



INTRODUCTION 

TO THE THIRD AND LAST BOOK OF THE SECOND SERIES 
OF THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 

Let all the people praise the Lord ! 

Yea, let all the people praise Him, 

For His goodness, and mercy, and loving-kindness. 

Yea, praise Him ! for His mercy endureth forever. 

Let us all "be willing to sing the song of the saints, and give praise to 
the Most High God, whose glorious mercy is abundantly offered to Man- 
kind, and which is as inexhaustible as His Nature, as constant as His Love 7 
and as enduring as His Existence. Come unto Me, ALL ye heavy laden 7 
and I will give you rest. Walk humbly before me or God, and you shall 
be upheld. Though storms of opposition, and torrents of vituperation 7 
should assail you, be steadfast, immovable, full of faith, glorifying God 
eternally, evermore. The course of this life will soon be passed over, 
Henceforth is laid up for you a crown of glory, and not for you only who 
read this, but for all who love God, and give Him glory for the Love and 
Mercy by which His Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, was bestowed 
upon Mankind, and made a propitiation for your sins. But though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool ; and though you have no hope 
except in the Mercy of an All Powerful and All Mighty God, you shall 
know that His Mercy endureth forever. 

Be then ready to make the change from Earth to the Spirit- World. Be 
under no apprehension of evil from it ; Welcome death of the body, fear 
death of soul : Welcome death of the body, because it is the entrance into 
new life : Welcome death of body, because all who have preceded you 
were benefited by it ; and Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead to con- 
vince you of this, and to persuade and convince you that the grave has no 
terrors, for death has no sting. 

Oh ! grave, where is thy victory, 

Oh ! death, where is thy sting ! 

The sting of death is sin, 

And the strength of sin is the Law, 

But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, 

Through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ; 

Who was in the beginning, is now, 

And ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 



PREFACE 

TO THE THIRD BOOK OF THE SECOND SERIES OF 
THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 

The series now completed is a sure and safe guide. It is a sure and 
safe deliverer from sin. suffering, and sorrow j from the tortures of 
doubt and uncertainty, from the apprehension of wicked schemes, and 
from the evil which the ways of men bring upon them. 

Having conducted you through this long course of instruction, I leave 
you to digest in your mind what you have read ; to read again what you do 
not understand ; and to investigate, by re-perusal, into any branch or portion 
of my subjects for further information. You will find that whatever you 
desire to know will be opened to your view by re-perusal. First, read for 
a general knowledge of its contents, then, re-examine the parts you find 
most interesting, lastly, do this as often as you want further light or 
knowledge upon any part or branch of my subjects, and you will be 
brought to a full knowledge of the Things which it pleases God to have 
revealed to His servants in the present time. 

All that follows this series will be of a different character. Good and 
useful, or it would not be given, but not so directly bearing upon your 
every-day actions and life. Read this, then, as containing all that will 
most help you. and profit by it, if possible, so as to be one of the happy 
company that eternally praise God for Goodness, glorify Him for His 
Power, and rejoice in His Everlasting Love, which continually spreads 
forth to the hearts of all His procedures, and is returned to Him in the 
praises of the new song, ever new ; 

Great and marvelous are Thy works, 

Lord God Almighty ! 
Just and true are all Thy ways, 

Thou King of Saints ! 
Amen, 

Saith the Spirit ; 
And let all the people say, Amen, 

Saith my medium. 



175 



CHAPTEK I. 



REASONS FOR BELIEVING THIS REVELATION. 

§ 1. When the first of the books belonging to this procedure were 
written, I did not rely on any outward proof for their reception. But 
these books shall have the testimony of all who listen to the inward Voice, 
to the aid of Divine Counsel, to the voices of Spirits, whether mani- 
fested in themselves or others, whether internally and silently given or 
externally and outwardly manifested. The sincere inquirer shall in all 
cases receive a true answer, whether that inquirer be a believer or an 
unbeliever, or whether he have long sought for truth or just commenced 
his search. But, as there will also be those, who will claim to be sincere 
inquirers, who will receive answers from some mediums inconsistent with 
truth, and with the answers to others, I will state that the truth may 
always be obtained, if prayed for by the questioner. To pray for the 
truth in reality, he must be able to unite in the following prayer : 

LET US PRAY. 

§ 2. Oh ! God ! Almighty Ruler of the Universe ! who dost from Thy 
Throne behold all the actions of all men ; who doth by Thy Omniscience 
know all that passes between men, and within them, who art by Thy 
Omnipresence ever present with us, and with each one of Thy creation, 
oh ! be pleased to favor my desire to know whether the Books I have 
read (or am reading, or am about to read), purporting to have been de- 
livered by and through Thy Son the Lord Jesus Christ, through one L. 
M. Arnold, of Poughkeepsie, are really given in Thy Will, and should 
truly and faithfully be received as coming from so high a Source ; and 
whether, Oh ! Father Almighty ! whether I am in duty bound to listen to 
them, and to discard all that I have believed contrary to them, or whether 
I shall reject them as the work of evil, or of imperfect mediums, or as 
wisdom or imagination of men. Tell me. Oh ! God ! if it be Thy Will 
that I should confirm or reject the evidence thus given of Thy continued 
care for Mankind ? or whether I should not rely on teachings of others, 
who dec] are that Thy Will will not be made known to Mankind in any 
such way ? Oh ! God ! Holy Father, Loving Friend, may it please Thee 
most plainly to make known to me, in such way as pleases Thee and will 
convince my reason, or my conscience, or my intuitive perception, what I 
ought to do, to believe, and to ask, respecting these said books. Oh ! 
Holy Father ! I desire to know the Truth without regard to the opinions 
of men. I desire to know Thy Will without regard to the will of men, 
and I will conform my thoughts, opinions, and actions, to Thy Will, if 



176 

Thou, Oh ! God ! wilt be pleased to aid me by Thy powerful help, and 
place me on the sure foundation of Truth and Revelation. Amen. 

§ 3. But you will say. perhaps, that you do not believe the medium to 
whom you apply after making this appeal to God ; or that you do not be- 
lieve God can make known to men in these days His Will. That He has 
not left Himself any means of communicating with men in these days, as 
to the course of action they should pursue. But if you believe this, if you 
believe that God exhausted His Power, established His Will, fully and 
completely manifested His Love, so that nothing further can be. or need 
be, made known, you of course can not make the prayer, or believe its an- 
swer if made. Because the prayer, like all prayers, supposes God to hear 
it : and that He will graciously incline His ear to the petitions of those 
who humbly desire His aid : and that He will grant the sincere desires, 
the innocent and fervent aspirations of His servants, or of those who sin- 
cerely desire to be His servants. If you do not believe such can be an- 
swered by God, under the present laws He has established, then you are 
beyond the reach of this appeal, you are beyond the aid of any prayer, 
because the prayers which are beneficial to you must be your own. 

§ 4. But, if you so believe, I have another appeal to make to you. If 
Love and Confidence in God, and in His Mercy, Love, and Benevolence, 
and Power, or Will to exert His Power, are wanting in you, I will appeal 
to your reason. If you have no faith you can not but the more rely upon 
reason • and though reason from its nature is not so sure a guide as faith, 
and revelation received by faith, yet I am aware that few minds can re- 
sist a cool and dispassionate argument founded upon truth, supported by 
facts, and established by logic. 

When God made man, as I described in the Second Book of the First 
Series, He revealed to him much. He implanted it in his mind, as fully 
as if it had been experienced and well remembered, that he could perform 
many acts, and use many means of receiving more knowledge. But. 
though this high degree of knowledge was thus revealed to the first pair 
of Mankind, other revelations were required of the same things to the 
posterity of that pair, at various times before and since the flood. Much 
of this revelation was not even communicated by Adam to his descend- 
ants, other portions of it were forgotten, some were disregarded, and grad- 
ually much, even most, of it was lost * and this, too, notwithstanding the 
other revelations made from time to time by or through Enoch, Noah. 
and other Anted iluvians. 

But you think, that after the invention of writing, that revelation might 
be and was so preserved as to preclude the necessity for a further revela- 
tion ! But you believe that Moses made a revelation, and that several 
prophets received communications from God or His Spirit, subsequent to 
that ; and that even after Jesus of Nazareth came and disappeared, his 
disciples received, by the Power and Will of God, certain manifesta- 
tions and revelations. Ptevelation from God or a Divine source did not 
cease then, either at the invention of writing, or at the Ascension of Jesus. 

If, then, neither of these were the boundaries which satisfied God that 
no more needed to be revealed, where else will you fix a limit ? Will you 
say that the Apostles were endowed with certain powers for the special 



177 

purpose of preaching the gospel, and that the necessity of possessing those 
powers ceased when the gospel had been preached by them ! But the 
Apostles never declared that inspiration would cease with their disap- 
pearance. They never declared that it was restricted to them. When 
Paul and his companions separated, because they could not agree as to the 
route they should take in carrying the gospel tidings to the heathen cities, 
did he appeal to his higher authority, or exclusive revelation ? Did he 
say. You can not accomplish .any miracles without me, you must go with 
me if you would be useful ! No such course was adopted by Paul. They 
agreed to separate, because they could not agree to remain together, and 
proceed together. 

Where, then, is the limit ? If the Apostles did not give us any, and if 
Jesus did not give us any, but, on the contrary, declared expressly that 
He would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, that should teach you 
all things ; if the Apostles, instead of saying, Believe no future revela- 
tion, only said, Do not believe any revelation contrary to that we preach, 
as Paul said ; or, Do not believe any revelation that does not also confess 
or proclaim Jesus of Nazareth to have been the Messiah or Christ, as John 
said, who shall dare to restrict God because He does not (or has not), in 
their opinion, make any manifestation of His Will since some time they 
choose to fix upon ! Who shall dare to say to God, Thus far hast Thou 
proceeded, but no farther canst Thou go ; either because Thou hast de- 
clared all that can be declared, or because Thy Mercy and Loving-kind- 
ness is satisfied, or because there is no further need of the exercise of Thy 
Power, Will, or Mercy, or Kindness ? 

Oh ! man ! helpless as you are, you can not believe that you do not 
want help. Discordant as you find yourselves, you can not but hope for 
reconciliation and harmony. You do hope for it, and try for it. But, 
though you have asked God to help you in your efforts to make men all 
of one faith, you are yet far from success. You will, though, yet try 
more and pray more for God's help, though you do not believe God will 
make known to you by revelation that He has helped you, or in any way 
directed you how to proceed. Perhaps you will say, He has not, or you 
would have ere this succeeded in establishing your faith as universal in 
the world ! But though God has not chosen to select your society or sect 
as His favorite, but has chosen the poor in this world's estimation, do you, 
Oh ! man ! look well to the foundation on which you rest Remember, 
that high professors and church authority, in the days of Jesus of Nazareth, 
were not only not the first to distinguish and receive Him as the Messiah, 
though the exact time of His appearance had been prophesied of and had 
arrived, and His authority was attested by such remarkable signs that you 
now only ask a repetition of them to believe in His second arrival here. 
Does not analogy teach you that, as it was then, it is now ? No ! you 
say, because Jesus was rejected by the Church of that day, and -by the 
leaders of public opinion, we are not to suppose every one so rejected to be 
Him, or to be His representative ! But, my friend, for such I esteem you, 
though perverse, be not blind as were the Pharisees. Say not this man 
casts out devils by the power of devils, or does any other good thing by 
evil motives, or the aid of evil power. Believe that the signs you can not 

12 



ITS 

explain or understand, are given for your establishment in faith ; and that 
however undignified it may seem to you to be to move tables or to rap 
on them, to answer silly questions, or to declare contradictions to contra- 
dictory questions and desires, believe that God has a purpose to be accom- 
plished in His own way, and by His will and pleasure : and that He can 
reconcile every discrepancy, and find in every dispensation and manifes- 
tation, a link in the great chain of harmony, which He will bind upon all 
His creation : as He has ever maintained it in harmony, though men have 
not been able to perceive and account for the manner of its being so linked 
together, by such apparently discordant materials. Believe, Oh ! man ! 
that God is powerful enough to work by humble means, and that He is 
consistent enough to leave you your Free-Will, and that He is Benevolent 
enough to wish you more happiness, that He is Merciful enough to secure 
your future happiness ; and, that while He offers you an earlier realiza- 
tion of Peace and Joy and Perfect Bliss, He does not compel you to accept 
it. Yet. if you desire, He will help you to obtain it; if you seek for it, 
you shall find it by His help ; and if you call on Him to know His will, 
He will find some way to answer you, if you are only willing He should 
answer you in the way He deems most suitable. 

$ 5. The outward manifestations are given to attract attention, to ex- 
cite curiosity, to lead Mankind to inquire, to investigate, to ask why are 
we thus disturbed, or aroused from our old well-beaten tracks ? Come 
and see. Remember, that John sent to Jesus to know whether he was, 
or not. the Messiah ; Jesus answered, by referring to the outward signs 
of the fulfillment of the prophecies respecting Him : and that I point you 
to the outward signs that testify of Me, and of this revelation. I refer 
you to the writing and to the rapping mediums. I refer you to inspired 
preachers, and to all who receive, in any way, direction or guidance from 
God : and, last of all, but most of all, I refer you to the internal manifes- 
tation of God's Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth in your own 
internal, generally called your heart. All these will testify of Me if they 
are properly interrogated : and I submit now to your reason, whether 
these proofs, from all these sources, are not enough to establish My 
authority to teach, inasmuch as I do not ask you to make any such great 
change as did occur between Judaism and Christianity. I only ask you 
to return to the first principles of Christianity, to the practice of the pre- 
cepts I preached outwardly when in the body, to the practice of the order, 
and discipline, and reception of revelation, inculcated by the Apostles and 
first preachers of Christianity. Then these signs shall accompany those 
who believe, and practice upon their belief. They shall have the Comforter, 
the Spirit of Truth, dwelling in them, preaching within them, guiding them 
to all Truth. They shall be led to fountains of living water, to bliss and 
joy everlasting, and ascend to realms of peace, and serve God in the man- 
sions of happiness prepared for all Mankind by the Father, who delights 
to confer upon His children good gifts. Be then seekers and finders j be 
ever watchful to know what God requires or desires of you, and you shall 
not be allowed to grope in dark ignorance. You shall be enlightened by 
that pure light of the Word shining into darkness, which can not compre- 
hend it except as it ceases to be darkness. Be then no longer faithless, 



179 

but believing. Be no longer scorning the humbleness of this procedure, 
but make the prayer I have written as your guide, make it your own 
prayer, and you will find the answer to be, God does speak to His children 
in all times, and He will not let the righteous be forsaken, nor give to 
His askers stones for bread. " He is powerful enough to save you, not only 
from unhappiness of itself, but from all the unhappiness or restraints that 
any who are opposed to Him may impose, or undertake to impose, upon 
you or any other. He will indeed do all but save you in your sins, or all 
but overcome your Free- Agency. Free- Will is the distinguishing quality 
of man, and the only thing he has which is his own. All else is God's ; 
and man, who would sacrifice to God, must give what he has, and what 
is not God's, or he does not give any thing. He must then give his Free- 
will to God, as a sacrifice pure, holy, and acceptable, it will be received ; 
if contaminated by ambition, lust of any kind, or desires for establishment 
in any plan of its own, it will not be received, as a perfect offering. Man 
does not then sacrifice to God, he attempts to bargain with Him ; to give 
Him a little, for the sake of receiving more than that little is worth. This 
will not succeed, for man can not overreach his Maker, or give to God any 
thing not his own. 



CHAPTER II. 

god's calls upon men. 

$ 6. Wherever man falls he lies helpless, unless God, or God's agents 
(which are the same as God, as they do only His Will), raise him, or rather 
help him in desiring to be raised. There is no salvation for any man ex- 
cept through God's help. Was man then made so imperfect by God, as to 
be unable to accomplish any thing of himself, and yet be pronounced 
good ! Not so, but God having made man as was most pleasing to Him, 
pronounced him good ; and man being good, was so with a liability to 
change, unless he continually complied with a law which God also made, 
and which was therefore good. That law was the law of duty, of obedi- 
ence, of sacrifice. The duty to be performed involved obedience to God's 
commands or requirements ; God's command or requirement was reduced 
to a unit in words, that is, to the sacrifice of his Free- Will. By yielding 
this sacrifice to God, man became reconciled to God if he had been sepa- 
rated from Him, or retained his harmony with God if he had not allowed 
the entrance of disobedience. 

§ 7. The sacrifice then involved obedience to God's law, and the per- 
formance of the duties required by that law. The law was written on 
the heart of man by the conscience of each man, if the man sought for the 
writing ; but he who sought not for the writing found nothing there, and 
had to be governed by outward laws, which of themselves could confer no 
reward for obedience, nor make any punishment for disobedience. The 
law however existed, and was made known to men : and those who re- 



180 

eeived it, though condemned by its reception, and made more guilty of 
disobedience by such reception, were, nevertheless, no longer allowed to 
excuse themselves by pleading ignorance, or want of desire of knowledge. 

§ 8. In the next place man was so constituted that he would in general 
fail to be obedient, and would therefore fall and require God's aid to be 
restored to unity or harmony with God. God's mercy, therefore, is con- 
tinually exercised. He calls men to obedience : but if man does not obey, 
He pardons him, unless he sins against knowledge. Every reasonable 
excuse for disobedience is taken as an excuse allowing of the exertion of 
God's pardoning power. But if the sin is against knowledge, a willful 
wanton disobedience, God requires an action of man before He will par- 
don him. Man must repent, and make resolutions of amendment, before 
God will pardon him. When man so repents and makes these resolutions, 
and sacrifices thus his will, and resolves to seek for and obey the Will of 
God, then God leads that man to the living fountain of inspiration, where 
He gives him such knowledge as is sufficient for him, and calls him to 
such duties as he is capable of performing in his own will. When he per- 
forms these, other duties are imposed. But these duties are always pro- 
portionate to man's strength, and the burden is never oppressive. For 
whenever any man finds it so, God, if requested, takes it off. Even if not 
requested, God releases the man from his obligation to perform, because 
the man is unwilling, and God will have none but willing servants. 

God, then, never requires more of a man than the man is capable of 
performing. 

$ 9. The next call God makes, is that the man should leave the body 
and enter the Spirit- World, there to receive further from His inexhaust- 
ible mercy, there to be raised to High and Perfect Bliss. Not as a reward 
for obedience or suffering, not as a recompense for pain or as a solace for 
sorrow, but because God wills to have all His children happy. Because 
He chooses to manifest His mercy, and establish His Kingdom in Heaven. 
Without God's help on Earth, man would have sunk to the lowest depth 
of depravity and spiritual ignorance. Without God's help in the Spirit- 
World, the spirit of the man would go on sinning, acting in disobedience 
to God's known commands, till he had separated himself from all others, 
and raised up for himself a buildingn ot of God. But God's Mercy re- 
strains the man from growing worse. His Goodness and Wisdom provides 
a way for him to get better. The requirement is still the same. God 
still calls upon man to yield to Him his Free-Will. To sacrifice to Him, 
and to receive the riches of His great Mercy and Wisdom. The sacrifice 
may be delayed by some for many myriads of years ; the progress may be 
so slow, that to all observers who have not reached to partake of God's 
perception, that progress may be invisible or imperceptible. What, then, 
will God ask of the man of the Spirit-World as a duty to be performed ? 
1 have explained what are the employments of the Spirits of the different 
classes or circles of different spheres. They are such as harmonize with 
the circle in which they are arrived, and such as assist the spirit to ad- 
vance to the next state or circle. By this, the work continues to be easy 
and the burden light. Existence is ever pleasurable, both in this life and 
that which is to come, 



181 

$ 10. But, you say, if existence is ever pleasurable, how is it that many 
commit suicide ? That is because they have mistaken the want of perfect 
happiness for the total want of happiness, or for the absence of happiness. 
Men are relatively happy, or relatively unhappy. So a climate is rela- 
tively warm or cold, but no climate is without heat. No climate is so 
cold that it is not evident that it might be colder. So no happiness that 
man can conceive of. is so good that greater can not be conceived possible • 
and yet, man can not tell how he would make it more. The suicide, find- 
ing himself less happy than he has been, rushes into another state, in 
general with the expectation that it will annihilate him, or that he will 
be bettered by being brought nearer to God • hoping that God will prove 
to be the merciful Father of His children ; and He will indulge their way- 
wardness on their part, and forgive them, not only ninety-nine times, but 
seven times seventy times. And God does keep open the door for such to 
progress, and continues to call even them to come and sacrifice to Him 
their Free-Will. 

§ 11- Free- Will is the deity of man's nature, and occupies the ruling 
position over all the attributes of man. It wields absolute power over 
him, as God wields the universe of power. But Free- Will can be influ- 
enced by its subordinates, as God is influenced by His subordinates. The 
desires and petitions of His servants are granted ; and the desires and pe- 
titions of man's several attributes, some of which are called passions, are 
granted or refused by his Free- Will. But, though Free-Will is thus ab- 
solute and yielding, God can only interfere, to subject man's Free-Will to 
His Own Perfeet Will, by causing some of these attributes of man to pe- 
tition man's Free-Will to listen to God, or to God's revelation. Were God 
to do more than this, He would overcome and annihilate that Free-Will ; 
and though the man would then be obedient to God's Will, man would no 
longer have a will, or be able to make a sacrifice to God. Helpless as he 
was before, then he would be incapable of action. Helpless as he would 
be, he* would be another being in fact, for he would not be man without 
Free-Will. God then asks man, sometimes through or by man's reason, 
sometimes through or by his gratitude, his love, his wishes for happiness, 
his aspirations for higher states, or any other quality or passion of human 
nature, to yield to God a sacrifice of that Free-Will, as a means of secur- 
ing a higher degree or realization of happiness, and of being brought to 
and into union and harmony with God. What then will the man do I 
Will he yield to God's petition so made, or reject the prayer ? Man's 
position at the time will be affected by so many circumstances, that it will 
seldom be found willing to yield to one. There are so many calls upon 
this one finite Free-Will that it beeomes confused, and tries perhaps to 
grant more than one of these qualities or attributes the supremacy over 
the others, and thus inharmony is continually existing in man. If he 
refrain from this error, he is next liable to instability, and instead of 
maintaining that attribute, through which God has wisely chosen to ap- 
proach him, in its supremacy, if he granted its prayer for supremacy, he 
raises presently another attribute to its station, and thus, in turn, yields 
first to one influence, then to another, and another, etc. Thus the man 
wavers, now approaching God and tasting happiness; now falling from 



182 

God and grieved by the want of that inward peace which he had once 
enjoyed a portion of. 

$ 12. Where, then, shall man find a remedy for this want of stability, 
or for his indecision ? Where shall he seek for true knowledge to enlight- 
en his Free- Will, so that his Free- Will shall yield the supremacy to that 
attribute in which God is then approaching him, in which he experiences 
the growth of that peace which is not of earth, or dependent upon the 
things of time? He must rely on the help of God. He must ask each 
passion or attribute that thus petitions him for its indulgence in suprem- 
acy, for this power to direct and to bring into its service all its fellow- 
attributes, What, oh ! passion ! or desire ! what is your motive ? What 
impels you to ask Me to indulge you to so great an extent, or to any ex- 
tent ? Why should you not rather serve in a more humble position ? If 
the reply be, that, I ask my gratification because thereby God will be hon- 
ored, or loved, or served . if it be, that. Thereby my fellow-man will be 
made happier, and the general good promoted : let the passion, attribute . 
or desire, have sway. Sacrifice your Free-Will : for then you may be 
sure God has impelled that attribute to ask of you this indulgence of ac- 
tion. If. on the other hand, the reason whispered to you is. that, God is 
indifferent to man's action; and, that, This will gratify your ambition for 
fame, power, or wealth ! be assured that. That attribute desires to enslave 
you, and will seek to maintain its power by continual petitions to disregard 
the wants or desires of others, the commands or impressions of God, and 
that you will sink into the slave of lust of some kind, and good, will be 
found uncomfortable to you, even when others possess it, and evil, or the 
absence of good, a pleasure to yourself, and recommendation of others to 
yourself. 

§ 13. What, then, shall a man do to be saved? Listen to the voice of 
God, feebly heard perhaps in the heart, feebly petitioning in some out-of-the- 
way place, all the principal ones being already occupied by antagonistic 
desires. Let attention be given to this still small voice, to this feeble 
knock upon the door of your heart, to this appeal of God through your 
own mind to you. Be attentive then to what God thus says or asks. 
Grant all your efforts to its progress. Be not turned aside from sacrificing 
every other desire that is expressed in your heart, every other passion 
which raises its voice for gratification. It will, perhaps, be a very slight 
indulgence that it calls for, a very brief neglect of God's voice or desire 
that it asks, but be resolute in denial and you may progress. You will 
find God's voice thereafter more audible, the desire to serve Him, or other 
men, will grow stronger, and the sacrifice of any interposing, or contradic- 
tory desire or atttribute will be easier than before. Long before you are 
perfect, long before you have completely made the sacrifice of your Free- 
Will, you will have experienced a portion of that peace which nothing 
earthly can give or destroy ; and which, thus existing within you, will be 
your surest guarantee of salvation, and the best evidence of your progress, 
that is possible for you to conceive of. Outward signs are all imperfect, 
the Son of God, the Holy City that comes down from Heaven, is alone 
perfect ; for nothing is perfect except God makes it so. The work of man 
is always imperfect, whether it be performed here or hereafter. God 



183 

alone is perfect, and such as are in harmony with Him are also perfect by 
their unity with Him, and not by any merit or exertion of their own ca- 
pacity. God is One. and those that would be one with Him, must be per- 
fect through Him, and be maintained by His Mercy and Power in that 
perfect union and communion with Him, which is the essence and reward 
of harmony with Him. They are Perfect as He is Perfect, because they 
are One with Him, even as I am One with Him. 



CHAPTER III. 

NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

§ 14. When the first process of yielding to God ; s influence, or call, or 
solicitation, has been gone through with, the second becomes easier, if it 
follow soon after the first. The way is easier because the mind knows 
what is required and what the requirement leads to. The mind has faith 
arising from experience of the previous operation of God's Spirit upon it 
having produced peace or satisfaction. Faith is the evidence of things 
unseen, says Paul. But Faith is truly that quality of the mind which is 
above reason, and which reason yields to as its superior. It is an instinct 
or intuition of the spirit. It being above reason, it can not be derived from 
it. Reason and argument can never produce Faith in any man. But a 
reference to his own internals will give it to any man who desires it, pro- 
vided the man asks it of God in a submissive and fervent manner. Ask 
and ye shall receive, knock and the way will appear opened to you to 
progress in Faith, and in the acquirement of Faith. 

Faith is. then, the evidence of things unseen by the spirit of man act- 
ing upon the mind of man. It is the spirit- action derived from the aid of 
God's Spirit. No man has faith in God, or in God'"s care and oversight, 
till he wants to have, and till he retains it by watching over it and guard- 
ing it from all assaults, whether they come from the reason of other men 
or his own mind. Let then no man take your crown. Your faith in God 
as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in His Omniscience and Omni- 
presence, is essential to a living faith. It is a living faith when possessed, 
and an active faith when referred to as a ground of action, a crown of 
glory when acted upon. Be then desirous, first, to have Faith ; second, to 
pray for it : third, to refer to it when you act toward others, or God. Let 
it be ever present with you. influencing your conclusions, and judgment, 
and expectations. So shall you find your faith a crown of glory, and a 
living principle. So shall you be advanced in the pursuit of happiness, 
because you will be led to rely on God as an Ever-Present and All- Pow- 
erful and an acting Being. Be then no longer fearful, but believing. Be 
no longer faithless, but be faithful to God, and have faith in God as a 
Friend who is incapable of deserting you in the darkest day of your for- 
tune, or the gloomiest period of your mental conflicts with doubts fears, 
and with all the powers of ignorance. 



184 

§ 15. There is in every man a capacity for faith, and every man can 
have it if he will resolve to seek it. I know that many say, I can not help 
what I believe ! I am ready to be convinced, but 1 can not make my belief 
conform to what is revealed as the truth ! To such I say, unhesitatingly, 
Your own Will prevents your receiving the revelation of the Will of God. 
Your reason only acts as the servant of your Will, and as such servant 
argues, and argues still when convinced of its error. Leave all these 
subterfuges ; go to God ; ask Him by prayer to enlighten your ignorance, 
to give you faith in what you ought to believe, to be your Establisher, 
Defender, and God • to be your Helper, your Savior, and your Friend; to 
be your Helper in affliction, your Savior in peril, your Advocate in trouble, 
your Defender in conflict, your Establisher at all times ; and, under every 
appearance of evil, to be your sure reliance, and your Eternal God. God 
is powerful enough, earnest enough, happy enough, good enough, to do all 
this ; and He has promised in every age of the world, through all of His 
servants or mediums of declaration, to do all, and to be all. I have told 
you to ask Him to do or to be : and He only waits for you to ask Him sin- 
cerely, earnestly, truly, and with resolutions to receive, as True, Holy, 
and Divine, whatever answer He may render to your prayer. Submit, 
and He will be your King ; resist, and you are His rebel. Walk humbly, 
love mercy, and do justice, and He will be your Friend. Be, then, ever 
desirous to have God on your side, and be careful that you be not found 
fighting against Him who is All-wise, Eternal, and All-powerful. Amen. 

§ 16. Let every man be persuaded in his own mind, First, that I am 
what I profess to be ; Second, that I am authorized to proceed as I do by 
God ; Third, that I have wisdom enough, either of Myself or by authority 
from God, to enable Me to proceed in the best way to secure the objects 
1 have in view j Fourth, that those objects are good, and such as ought to 
be secured, or I would not attempt to secure them; and he will see no 
longer any cause of distrust. But so long as he searches the Scriptures, 
not to find when I shall come, but whether I can come, he will be in con- 
fusion. The plain prophecies of olden time will appear to him a 'mass of 
absurdity, and the day of salvation will be, for him, postponed indefinitely. 
What shall a man then do, resolve upon his belief and then search the 
Scriptures ? Oh ! no ; let him search the Scriptures after he has made 
up his mind to believe them, and to be guided by God's Spirit to under- 
stand and apply them. The Scriptures of Truth, as those of olden time 
are very properly called, are fit for the enlightenment of outward men, 
for they are supported by outward proofs, and defended by outward de- 
fenders. But they are not alone enough to lead men to truth, or to a 
knowledge of the Will of God. Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, 
but God gives the increase. So, study of the Scriptures may proceed from 
day to day, and year to year, but the mind will be no more filled with 
knowledge than at the beginning, unless God pleases to let His servant 
have an understanding of the true signification of the letter of the Word 
of God. The Word of God, is quick and powerful, and goes right to the 
heart and marrow of man, but the Word of God, is revealed through men 
to men, and partakes of the imperfection of its medium of transmission. 
The Word of God, is understood easily and at once upon its reception ; 



185 

the Word of God. is more obscure in*its teachings, because, being out- 
ward, it can- only reach through his outwards, such as his reason, or his 
social companions, who affect him often by their sympathy, and frequently 
without cither beina* conscious of its existence. 



CHAPTER IV. 

LAWS OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 

§ 17. There is prepared, for all those who love and serve God, laid 
up, a crown immortal, full of glory. But the crown is laid up bej^ond the 
grave. Unless this mortal puts on immortality, unless this corruptible 
ceases to be corruptible, by leaving only the incorruptible in us or about 
us, man can not enter into the joy of perfect bliss. Beyond the grave lies 
that undiscovered country, where every man must give an account of the 
deeds done in the body, and be judged at the bar of God. 

§ 18. All that have lived in former ages have thus passed away. All 
that now live expect to follow them, and all that shall hereafter dwell in 
places of the present generation, it is supposed, must go as their predeces- 
sors went. Death of the body is the inevitable preparation for a new 
sphere of existence. Death, then, ought not to be viewed with apprehen- 
sion, or as an evil to be endured. It is a release to be hoped for, a happi- 
ness to be enjoyed. 

Man dreads to pass from the known to the unknown ; yet he tires of the 
known and seeks the unknown, so long as he can obtain the latter without 
losing the former. If, then, we can convince mankind that the known is 
not lost by death, and that the unknown is obtained in a glorious appear- 
ing, he will no longer go down to the grave sorrowing, no longer be ap- 
prehensive of his inevitable change from Death to Life. For this is really 
the change which takes place. Death is the process by which the spirit 
becomes more fully conscious of its existence, and is led more knowingly 
into a state of progress toward Perfect Bliss. 

§ 19. Death is not the tedious or painful process that many apprehend 
it to be. Death is often a release from bodily pain. It is always a release 
from bodily fear. Death appears to those who witness it in others as a 
loathsome change, because the sustaining spirit, departing from the matter 
of the body, leaves it to undergo those chemical changes which fit it for 
further use in the economy of nature. The cold skin and discolored fea- 
tures illy represent to us the animation which so lately appeared in and 
upon them. Over all the body the change appears, and the very touch 
of the once loved form is repulsive to the survivor. The once loved form, 
we say, as if to support the delusion so* long entertained, that it is the 
form to which we were attached, instead of the being that animated it. 
Long ere the survivors have felt consolation, the departed being has watch- 
ed with interest the change it underwent, and pitied the friends who thus 
mourned for it, as it perhaps had mourned in other days for others. But 



186 

if the spirit is elevated sufficiently to sympathize with those friends, to 
desire to alleviate their sufferings, it hovers about them, and strives to 
make known to them that it is not dead, but liveth. The power of God 
has preserved, it. as effectually as it preserved Daniel when in the den of 
lions. That was an outward preservation, the other is a spiritual one. 
That was an unusual occurrence, the other was or is an every-day one. 
But the one, and the other, is a manifestation of the Power of God, and 
an acting under, or by His Laws, established at the foundation of the world, 
and at the time when God said, Let there be Light. 

§ 20. Death is inevitable. Not that of necessity it must always take 
place by disease, or accident, or poison, or by weapons, or in any visible 
outward manner. All that is inevitable, is the change of this mortal body 
for a spiritual body, or, more exactly speaking, it is merely that this earthly 
tabernacle must be dissolved, leaving existent that spiritual body, which 
the soul had collected about it and within the earthly body immediately 
upon its entrance into this sphere of existence, and which it had retained 
and maintained by the aid of the Word, and under the laws of spirit-mat- 
ter as controlled or usable by Life. 

§21. Having so existed in intimate relationship to the soul and the earth- 
ly body, the spirit-body of man becomes so naturally and fully a part of the 
soul itself, that, inasmuch as the soul has no memory of previous existence 
without it. and inasmuch as the spirit or soul intelligence does not observe 
any change of this spiritual body, except that it becomes purer and more 
refined and brighter, more shining and more glorious, it naturally believes 
the spiritual body to be eternal in its existence, unchangeable in its essence, 
and the most glorious form of man's appearance. But appearances in the 
Spirit-World, particularly to spirits not much advanced, are far more de- 
ceptive than those existing on the Earth in the outward. The experience 
of spirits is necessarily unreal, as I have already shown in this Series, 
and they must therefore be left in ignorance of many things by these false 
conceptions of their positions, and powers, and performances. 

But will not this book, or these books, enlighten spirits as well as men ? 
They will enlighten all who want light. They will urge many spirits to 
advancement, and so far spirits will be enlightened by them. But, inas- 
much as the misapprehension of spirits of the reality is a law of their 
nature, and effect of the Will of God for their good or advancement, their 
knowledge that such law exists and is followed by such effect will not 
prevent their being equally deceived or deluded or hallucinated, or what- 
ever you choose to call the impression of the spirit's own desire to be to 
itself as real as any outward experience is to those in the body. It will 
no more affect the continuance of such impressions being regarded as real- 
ities, than does the reason of a man psychologically affected, and induced 
to act under the will of another, and behold whatever the operator chooses 
to have him behold as if it was real; and 'though the subject have just 
passed through one experiment, and been allowed to perceive how it had 
been a mere hallucination, the same experiment might be again repeated 
with equal or perfect success. 

§ 22. Such, then, is the law of spirit; and such is the relation spirit 
sustains to law, that only what it is proper, or useful, or agreeable for 



187 

them to see, do they see. All the evil that pains, all the sin that degrades, 
all the power that appals them, is invisible ; as much so to them as if it 
did not exist. How, then, can they detect a murder, a robbery, or a theft ? 
They can not. except they desire from good motives to see or detect it. 
Good motives enable it to see the act, and to witness without injury the 
pain, the degradation, or the horrible act. But can not the spirit of the 
departed friend, then, read off from the memory of the living all they have 
done, and so realize a consciousness of their actions as well as if they had 
witnessed them, or participated in them ? They may so read when they 
have a good motive. If the motive is bad, they are unable to obtain any 
thing, except what they desire to see. You say they might desire to see 
the truth, and from a bad motive ! Then they would see not the truth, 
but that for which they desired to see the truth would be manifest to them, 
and appear to them to be truth. They would suppose themselves to have 
seen the truth, and they would then undertake to act upon the minds of 
men, perhaps, as if it were true ; and whether the action was real, or un- 
real, would make no difference to their perception of it. 

$ 23. The spirit is, then, unable to do harm; unless the man, by his 
desire according with the will or desire of the spirit, enables the spirit to 
act in the man's will, and aid him in performing the action of which they 
are then both guilty. But I have said the spirit gets no worse, does not 
fall from any grace or advancement it has experienced ! The spirit is 
not guilty of the act performed by the man, nor is the man guilty of the 
act performed by the spirit. When the two combine their wills and pow- 
ers in the performance of an evil act, each bears his own responsibility. 
The spirit's responsibility is no greater than if he had performed, or ex- 
perienced, one of the usual unreal actions and scenes. The spirit, that 
would so join the man from evil desires, would also form the evil desires, 
and pass through the unreality, if the opportunity of joining the man, and 
making the act more allied to reality, had not occurred. The man would 
have attempted the act without the aid of the spirit, and if we suppose the 
act was not accomplished for want of that aid, we must remember the 
man was equally guilty in the sight of heavenly vision and discrimina- 
tion, as if he had succeeded. Success is not the test of merit, or guilt, in 
God's system. Success is a punishment, or a reward sometimes, of good 
or evil desires ; and actions are permitted to men in the body as a mode 
of experience, useful to them in a future life. The last act of a career of 
guilt may be more shocking to mankind, or to a virtuous mind ; but it is 
not necessarily any more guilty in God's view than the first step, trifling, 
perhaps, in its ultimate effects upon all but the man's internals. 

§ 24. Far, then, as God's laws are from resemblance to man's laws in 
this respect, I would not have it inferred that man's laws are wrong in 
punishing the act rather than the motive ; and high misdemeanor of the 
law is truly that which deserves severe punishment by men. I would 
rather blame men that their laws punish the small effect, or misdemeanor, 
too strictly and rigidly and severely ; thereby, sometimes, driving the 
offender to despair and to greater crime, when mercy tempering justice, 
might have reclaimed him, and brought him to respect himself, and the 
laws of the community and of God. It is not that punishment should not 



188 

be proportioned to the crime, but that it ought also to be reduced when 
the crime existed only in form, or mental manifestation ; and that the 
youth, the former character, the respectability of the offender, ought to be 
allowed as a mitigation of the punishment, or as a full excuse for the 
crime. Far be it from me to urge you to tolerate crime or evil in men of 
rank, or station, or respectability in society. All I ask is, that men should 
allow former innocence to weigh against present crime ; to be willing to 
reclaim the offender without punishment, rather than to resolve only to 
attempt his reclamation by punishment. Do not let the guilty escape at 
the expense of the innocent, but do not make the comparatively innocent 
offender suffer for the sake of the more guilty. Do not even desire to pun- 
ish at all to deter others, but to restrain and reform the individual. But. 
you will say. the avowed object of man's law, or rule of punishment, is 
to reform others as well as the offender : or, as it is generally expressed, 
to deter others from similar crimes ! The experience of mankind has 
shown them, that severe punishment for small crimes only makes men 
more brutal and reckless, and that the reduction of punishment for crime 
is generally followed by a reduction of crime. It is evident from this, 
that men are not deterred by punishments inflicted upon others. Again, 
I have said in former times, that of old an eye for an eye was required, 
and a tooth for a tooth, a limb for a limb ; but I preached forgiveness of 
injuries, and pardon to the offender. If, then, an individual could allow 
these offenses to go unpunished without fear of thereby inducing others 
to repeat them (which is to be inferred from the manner and form of the 
precept as I gave it), certainly society could relinquish the desire to deter 
others, and confine itself to the repression of crime by punishing the of- 
fender with a sole view to his reformation. 

§ 25. I perceive that many men, holding fixed opinions upon this sub- 
ject, which has been much discussed, so as to give them much confidence 
in their present opinions and an unwillingness to change or even modify 
them, will fc& offended at me that I have thus undertaken to instruct them 
how to make laws, and disposed to drive me back as an intruder into 
state affairs, whereas I ought to confine myself to religious matters. I 
acknowledge that I have, in this respect, departed from my usual course; 
and that it is from pretensions of this nature that men have been led to 
condemn religion, and to fight on account of it. I acknowledge that man 
ought not, as a member of a religious community, to interfere by any 
religious authority, in the execution or formation of the laws of the 
country. But man should seek to make laws in accordance with the AYill 
of God. and should seek to be individually guided by Him, whenever he 
has to act as a maker or executor of law. I have, though, given this ad- 
vice now. not only because it was required to aid public sentiment, or the 
general opinions of men disposed to do what is right in the matter, but 
because your cavil at this will enable you to see why I do not lay down 
rules for your action upon all the great or little questions which are oc- 
cupying the public mind, and causing the public sentiment to revolve in 
health circuits. I have told you before, that the general rule can only be 
laid down. Its application to different circumstances, ever varying, ever 
assuming slight shades of differences, must be made individually, and by 



189 

seeking Divine Direction. That which is right for one, may be wrong for 
another; and this is not because God requires more of one than another, 
but because one man is more capable of perceiving his duty than another, 
and has greater facilities for so perceiving it, and sometimes for perform- 
ing it. It is. in reality, because God is impartial, and tempers His justice 
with mercy, and thereby makes His perfect justice equal in its manifesta- 
tion to every man, that men are unequally called on for performance or 
resistance, for submission or endurance to law or requirements of men, 
and to conformity or non- conformity to public sentiment or opinion. 



CHAPTER V. 

ACTION OF HIGHER UPON LOWER EXISTENCE. 

$ 26. When the spirit has advanced through the seven circles of the 
Second Sphere, a change in it takes place, similar, in some respects, to 
death, but yet quite different in most respects. The spiritual body is not 
dissolved, but the spirit perceives a change taking place. In progressing 
from one circle to another in the same sphere, the change is impercep- 
tible. From one sphere to another the change is perceptible. The spirit 
is prepared by instruction of those who have passed through the change, 
and being so instructed, looks forward to it as a reward for its faithful- 
ness and attention to the Will of God, The change takes place suddenly, 
as Death is really instantaneous, though to men apparently long and 
gradual. Yet the difference between Life in the body and Life out of it 
is the whole difference, and it is evident that in this respect it must be 
instantaneous, as life is in or out. However feeble the mani^tation of 
life may be, the whole life exists there as much as in the strongest man. 
The principle of life prevents the decomposition or dissolution of the 
earthly body, and the moment that life is absent, the action of life ceases 
to maintain the organization existing. By the laws of matter to which 
it now becomes subject, its dissolution commences by changing the rela- 
tions of its particles to each other, and the whole mass. But the mass 
retains its organization for a longer, or a shorter time, according to cir- 
cumstances in which it remains. The partial dissolution which seems to 
take place in diseases, or before death, is really an effort of nature to 
maintain or recover a healthy action in the whole, by sacrificing a part 
with a view to its restoration or healing and leaving the rest healthy. 

§ 27. In the change in the Spirit- World from one sphere to the next 
this has no imitation. The spiritual body is only affected by being refined, 
until the Seventh Sphere is entered. The spirit-body is refined in as sud- 
den and instantaneous a manner as death of the earthly body occurs. 
The grosser part, contaminated by the actions of the body on the Earth, 
is left without a sustaining power. It speedily dissolves and impercep- 
tibly separates from the purified or advanced body that is still maintained 



190 

by the action and presence of Aura. The separated particles return to 
their general mass in the Spirit- World. The spirit-body and mind is for- 
ever advanced to the Third Sphere, and though it possesses all the powers 
it had in every part or circle of the Second Sphere, it seldom (as I have 
explained) exercises them, because there are plenty of spirits in those 
circles to do such work or action, and the spirit of the Third Sphere is 
exercised in duties those of the Second can not perform. Here, then, let 
us pause, and inquire or consider how it is that such a change takes 
place, though no allusion has ever been made to it before. Because each 
sphere is a complete part, a world by itself, a division evident in the 
spirit-world to all above it, but not to those below it. Low spirits see 
higher ones, but they are the spirits of higher circles of their own spheres, 
except when the higher spirit seeks or desires to manifest itself to the 
lower one. How is this ? you say, inasmuch as the body of each is com- 
posed of the same substances, except that the higher has parted with some 
of the grosser or more corrupted portions upon which we can not suppose 
vision or visibility depends ! Yet such is the fact ; visibility does depend 
upon that very grossness or contamination, and the particles assuming a 
different arrangement, and thereby becoming invisible to perceptions that 
before had cognizance of them, is no more strange than that glass may be 
of various colors, and changed to transparent by purification which ab- 
stracts a very limited proportion of its substance. 

§ 28. Long ere the spirit so departs from the Second Sphere, it knows 
that it will encounter the change, and though it is known to spirits in 
lower circles than the seventh, it is not so explained that they understand 
it. They know that certain spirits disappear and are seen no more, but 
they do not therefore infer that a change bearing any similarity to death has 
taken place, any more than man would if he never saw death take place. 
He would suppose the spirit to be merely in another pi ace, or engaged in 
duties that required a separation. But if spirits have all they desire, and 
they desire the presence of one of these advanced spirits, how do they obtain 
the realization of their wish ? They have the semblance of the spirit 
with them, in whatever form they desire or wish for its appearance and 
manifestation. Here the realization ends. High spirits are not subject 
to the desires of lower ones, though high spirits are always so desirous of 
contributing to the happiness or advancement of any of God's creatures, 
that they are ever ready to leave any work that can be postponed, or trans- 
fer it to other spirits in their same sphere or power, for the sake of materi- 
ally aiding the lower one. So it often happens that the higher spirit pre- 
pares for the lower one certain helps, and deals out assistance with the 
aid or means of other spirits. There is also help given to the lower spirit 
by its associates of the same sphere by consultation. This is not extra- 
ordinary, but common in the higher spheres. In the Second Sphere, the 
general character and tendency being low, the aid of fellow- spirits is less. 
Perhaps the Lower Sphere may be left, as it is already well explained in 
the Second Book of this Series. But I will state that the lowest circles 
of spirits can not aid each other much, and are therefore worked on more 
by the higher spirits, who appear to them in the relation of teachers, and 
of instructors in their employments or duties, and assign to them tasks or 



101 

duties to perform. By these means the spirit becomes obedient and self- 
sacrificing. As the spirit sacrifices self, it advances ; as it advances, it 
becomes more easily influenced by higher spirits ) because it has less will 
of its own. Having reached the Sphere of Memory, as I have described, 
it progresses in the reception of its own and others' memory, till having 
arrived at the period or position in the seventh circle of that sphere which 
precedes immediately its reception into the Fourth Sphere, or Sphere of 
Knowledge, it again undergoes a change, similar to that already described 
as occurring between the Second and Third Spheres. Having experienced 
this refinement of its spiritual body, it is qualified to traverse space it be- 
fore could not pass. The means by which it thus passes beyond the lim- 
its of the Solar System, to which it had been attached from its entrance 
into Paradise to its arrival at the third circle of the Fourth Sphere, have 
been so alluded to that they may be surmised by those who have atten- 
tively read all that has preceded this. But, how few will have done so, 
how many have skipped parts, how many have hurried over the first 
books as immaterial, so that they could reach the revealments of the last. 
But the first and the last are so connected, that the last requires the first 
for appreciation, or even for understanding them. No useless sentences 
have been published, or even written. All will be found instructive, and 
necessary to a true understanding of the History of All Things. Is it 
completed then by this Book, or do we well to expect more ? More will 
be given, at such time as God shall deem fit. Not that I do not know, 
but I do not choose to declare how much and when. Not that I can de- 
clare surely the time, because, as I have explained, it is contingent upon 
a willingness of some medium to be entirely passive in my hands, and 
entirely submissive to do the work imposed upon him thus by its recep- 
tion. For God has chosen to have it performed in this way by a man, 
without compulsion or the sacrifice of his will except as he wills to sacri- 
fice it. 

§ 29. This medium is now willing to do this, though he was disposed 
not long since to complain of the hard work. But I am not ready now, 
because the time has not come. But when the time comes he may be un- 
willing. There is no restriction upon his Free-Will. He is not raised to 
that elevation which secures him from falling. He can not be raised to 
such an elevation till he shall have left the body and reached the high 
spheres. In them only are the wills of men completely sacrificed; and, 
till the will is entirely sacrificed, rebellion, or inattention, which is in ef- 
fect rebellion, may and does occur. My medium, then, may be induced 
by some outward circumstances to refuse to obey my will. But this will 
show a want of faith in him ! Not merely in him, but in all. For his 
faith receives its severest trial by the rejection which these writings or 
revealments experience at the hands or wills, not only of the so-called 
religious community, but also of the believers in the reality and spiritual- 
ity of the present manifestations. 

§ 30. When the heterogeneous mass of Spiritual Believers is surveyed, 
their want of faith in these Books will not appear so extraordinary. They 
have been induced to believe by so many different motives, so few of which 
were not entirely selfish, that the only wonder left, upon reflection, is that 



192 

any should receive them. Some are impelled to believe by affection, be- 
cause having lost a dear relative, they desired to retain a way of commu- 
nicating with him. Others have desired knowledge that should elevate 
them, in some particular, above their fellow-men. Others have desired 
to obtain from it the means of support. All these must change their prin- 
cipal desire to the one true desire, that of serving God, and asking His 
Will and Wisdom to be made known to them, for their enlightenment and 
aid in following after heavenly things. 

Besides this, so perverse is man, that all who have had fixed religious 
principles, which conformed to some sectarian form, are fearful that they 
shall have to abandon them. But fear not, ye outward professors ! I will 
not ask you to abandon your associates, or withdraw from your connection 
with the church which acknowledges God to be Ruler and King, and ad- 
mits that He knows and regards the actions of men. I leave you there 
that you may infuse into the minds of your fellow-professors a desire to 
inquire, to know God better, and to serve Him more. Because too many 
would willingly serve God more and better, if they were not persuaded 
that words and not deeds, professions and not acts, are required ; they 
are thus led away from doing good works, which necessarily are good by 
being performed from good motives, by justifiable means, upon or toward 
fellow-men. For none can really believe themselves capable of aiding 
God, and all will admit Him to be beyond the need of the help of any or 
all individuals of the human race. 

§ 31. But there is also another difficulty; a small community, called 
Quakers, have preached for some two hundred years that the law of God 
is made manifest to man within him, in a manner superior to any other, 
and that, therefore, man should be governed by the law so written on his 
heart or mind, to the exclusion or subordination of all other guides. By 
this doctrine having been so forcibly preached among them, it has be- 
come the distinguishing feature of their association, and though they have 
not been consistent with their own profession, they have exerted an influ- 
ence upon all who have known them and their doctrines, and caused even 
other churches to admit the possibility of such reception of inward direc- 
tion, though those churches continue to hold it subordinate to other guides, 
and are indeed impelled, by other parts of their theological features, to 
reject it entirely, even as impossibility. But in this Book, as in former 
ones, I have referred you to this inward guide; and have declared even 
that by means of it, and by attention to it, this Series of Books may be 
known to be of God, and what they profess to be. This is to many a 
stumbling-block, because they are not willing to be guided by such direc- 
tion, and because they are not willing to be so guided they do not receive 
it. Man must be willing to hear the truth before it will be declared to 
him in this way. 

But, though I refer you to this as a guide, I do not ask you to rely on it 
as the sole or chief guide ; for I refer you principally to my agreement 
with former revelation as recorded in the Bible, and to the agreement with 
reason that my whole presents. I refer also to the outward sign, which 
outward sign is the test formerly given to establish revelation: the out- 
ward sign of rapping and of other spiritual manifestations, which I have 



193 

declared would also confirm my declarations, and assert my truth. Many 
mediums, too, will have the power of healing bodily or outward disease, 
and these mediums will also believe and declare my truth and identity. 
Be then satisfied to yield your will, your former faith or conviction, to the 
truths here declared, and seek more particular and special guidance 
within you. 

General laws, and rules for bodies of men, and for the general conduct 
of each man. are found in recorded revelation. Special guidance, when 
the sincere follower of these, or the best guides a man has, have been 
followed as far as they will carry him, will be obtained by him who seeks 
from God this direction. This special guidance should not be expected or 
desired except in case of doubt, uncertainty of the meaning of the recorded 
revelation, or a need of instruction as to its application to the particular 
circumstances in which the man may be placed. I do not, therefore, place 
one, or the other, above, or below. I place them all in their places, and 
together they form for man a sure and sufficient guidance. 

And what do you propose to substitute for them ? A part for the whole. 
And then you would help the part by man's wisdom. You would have 
the man, who needs more guidance than he can find in the part, go to 
some man or some body of men, and ask them what he should do, what 
he should refrain from doing. Let reason judge whether you are right 
and I am wrong, or whether I do not furnish you with a reasonable and 
probable and proper solution of the difficulties which have perplexed and 
disturbed men in all churches in the present and past times. 

$ 32. .Having given you this argument, for the reception of these writ- 
ings by every one who desires to serve God or, in other words, do good, or 
who more selfishly desires principally to secure his eternal welfare, or 
more particularly selfishly desires to be happy here in the body, I would 
once more ask you to join me in humble prayer to that God you all admit 
to be . above us. and able to grant our petition. I also particularly call 
upon you who believe me to be so powerful, so one with God, as to be 
worthy of personal worship, to unite with me. even as you ask me to unite 
with you when you pray in my name. 

§ 33. Oh! Holy Father! Merciful God! be compassionate upon our 
ignorance, and bestow upon us a portion of Thy Wisdom. Be compassion- 
ate upon our poverty, and bestow upon us the riches of Thy favor and 
grace. Oh ! God ! Most Merciful, Who hast opened the way for our sal- 
vation, may it please Thee to guide us and direct us so that we may find 
the Truth among all the conflicting claimants for its possession, for. Oh ! 
Almighty Father ! Thou hast the Power and the Will to save us, and we 
want to be saved by Thy Mercy, which, Thou hast most mercifully de- 
clared, endureth for ever. Oh ! Holy Father ! help us, as it may please 
Thee to help us, and make us willing to receive Thy help in the way it 
may please Thee most we should have it, so that we may glorify Thee, 
and Thy Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom, with Thee, be 
ascribed all Honor, Praise, Glory, and Power, now and for ever, and ever- 
more, world without end. Amen. 

13 



194 

§ 34. Oh ! God ! who art ever-present, and ever-loving, Oh ! Father ! 
who dost most kindly invite us to pray Thee for good gifts, bestow upon 
me, I pray Thee, that knowledge of Thee, and of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and of Thy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, which is the Comforter of those 
who receive Thee and Thy Son, which will enable me to perceive the 
Way, the Truth, and Eternal Life. So that I may receive, Oh ! Father ! 
from Thee that peace, which comes down from Thee, and can never be 
taken from me by others. Oh ! God ! help me to retain it when Thou 
hast been pleased to restore me to Thy favor, and keep me, I pray Thee, 
from the temptation of self-will, and self-gratification of will, so that I 
may obey Thee, and serve Thee in accordance with Thy Will, all my 
days, and be received into Thy Heavenly Kingdom, into eternal and un- 
ending progression of Happiness. Amen. 

$ 35. Oh ! Holy and Loving God ! Thou art the Giver of all, and the 
Bestower of all to men ! may it please Thee to bestow upon me under- 
standing and wisdom, and give unto me knowledge of the Truth, and to 
Thee will I endeavor to devote my life here and hereafter. Amen. 

§ 36. Oh ! Lord of Heaven and Earth ! who art the High and Mighty 
Ruler of Thy own Infinite Works ! may it please Thee to implant in me 
knowledge of Thee, and direction as to Thy Will, whenever I am in doubt 
and know not what Thou wouldst prefer to have me do, or what will best 
advance my eternal welfare, or best enable me to serve my fellow-men, or 
best enable me to protect and support those who depend upon me. or best 
enable me to retain Thy peace which cometh down from Heaven., or best 
enable me to walk after Thy requirements here, and most promote Thy 
Great and Holy Cause: and to Thee shall be, evermore, the praise, the 
honor, and glory therefore, and for all that I have or acquire by Thy Will. 
Amen. 

<t 37. Oh ! God ! my Father ! be merciful and loving to me, who hast 
left all to follow Thee. Be merciful and kind to Thy humble servant ; 
and raise me to be Thy Son, when I may be purified and glorified by Thy 
Power and Thy Mercy. Amen. 

$ 38. If you can make all these prayers your own, do so. If you can 
not, strive to do so. Walk humbly, do justly, love mercy, and God will 
help you and accept you. But do not suppose you can stand still and 
have the work done for you. No, God will not be mocked by pretended 
service, nor deceived by professions of desires which are unreal. Do good. 
That is, the best you can do ; and, if you strive to do all the good you can, 
you will be surprised to find that so much is in your power. Do good, 
and you will be helped to do it. Stand still, and you will not be moved. 
God will not force you to maintain or undertake action you do not desire 
to perform. Have the good desire, and you will have the Great Help. 
Walk humbly, and you shall not be cast down : but will hear in due time. 
Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in small 
things, hereafter thou shalt have greater to do. All, that will come, may 
come and partake of the waters of life freely, without money and with- 
out price. 



195 



CHAPTER VI. 

PROGRESSION TO WISDOM. 

§ 39, When, in the course of the spirit's progress, it arrives at the 
circle in which it receives knowledge of other spheres, or systems of plan- 
ets and suns, it finds itself possessed of the power to extend itself beyond 
the limits which formerly hounded its travels and researches. It may. 
by the same process of will and attenuation, which the spirit or soul possess- 
ed in Paradise, extend itself, to another system or combination of systems, 
till it reaches the system which it desires to be at or in. Having arrived 
at its purposed position, the termination of its journey, so rapidly made, 
it receives, from spirits there, such knowledge as its advancement quali- 
fies it for. and returns at its pleasure, and by the same process by which 
it departed, to the position or place it had previously occupied. The Spirit- 
World to which it had originally been assigned remains ever its home, 
though its perceptions extend farther and farther with each advance it 
makes toward the perfection of God's Sons. 

§ 40. Thus far have we proceeded, in pursuance of our design to make 
mankind in the body acquainted with the knowledge possessed by spirits 
in the Fourth Sphere. Do any say, I have not restricted myself to this 
boundary ? or, do any say. I have not given all the knowledge spirits 
must be supposed to possess ? I answer, Believe that which you have, if 
you would have more : for to him who hath, more shall be given ; but to 
him who hath not much, even that which he hath shall be given to anoth- 
er. Believe what I told you, and you will find it will tell you much more 
than you have supposed possible, for whatever further knowledge it may 
be expedient for you to acquire will be found by you in a perusal of these 
works with a view to enlightenment on that point, even though it may not, 
to your perception, have been treated of; and thus this is a revelation 
greater than that of men revealing a new theory, for that grows imperfect 
as it is magnified, but this, as it is extended, becomes more perfect and 
glorious and worthy of its Author. Here is indeed another proof of my 
identity and truth, for I teach not as man teaches, imperfectly ; but as no 
man teaches, and that is perfectly. But perhaps you blame me for not 
being consistent, in having told more than I had promised. It is thus 
too, that God will fulfill His promises, abundantly, and beyond the expec- 
tation of mankind. Be, then, full of joy. for revelation proceeds continu- 
ally to all who seek for it. and man can, in this bodily life, commence the 
eternal progression he makes in knowledge of God and His Creation. Be 
then thankful, for God is good, beyond the power of man to conceive or 
imagine : and God will gratify His Benevolence, and proclaim His Glory, 
by bestowing upon His creatures benefits. Be then no more despondent 
or faithless, nor unbelieving or doubtful, but be joyful, and give thanks to 
God, and to His Son. who is the Servant and Agent of God ; and do not 



190 

regard the medium as any thing more than a mere instrument in the 
hands of a workman, for such is his office ; and this instrument is good or 
had. sharp or dull, as it pleases the workman or as his skill makes it. 

§ 41. Having now arrived at the close of this portion of my subject, let 
me ask you to try me calmly by Reason, unprejudiced by creeds, unbiased 
by your wishes, and see if I am not reasonable. Remember, that though 
Reason may and must agree with revelation, and that all that is not rea- 
sonable is untrue, yet that Reason alone can not lead you to Truth. Be- 
cause two contradictory propositions may be made, have often been made, 
and both be reasonable. It is from this cause that most of the dissentions, 
which have agitated the social or the religious world, have proceeded. 
Reason was on both sides, and each party numbered in its ranks men of 
high intellect, deep learning, and powerful reason. Yet these men con- 
tradicted each other, and refused to see the plain fact that both were 
reasonable, that either might be right, and that revelation alone is infalli- 
ble. The fallible may agree with the infallible, and can never be really 
and unreconcilably opposed to it : but the infallible can not be brougKt 
down to the level of the fallible, or forced to agree with it. Let Reason 
then be your lamp in the absence of the sun of revelation ; but when the 
sun h as arisen, open the shutters of your mind, and let in its glorious 
beams to warm you into eternal life, and illuminate your pathway with 
its unsurpassable, unequable effulgence. So shall you find peace, joy, 
and everlasting happiness. So shall you feel that peace which cometh 
down from Heaven, and enables every man to sit under his own vine or 
fig-tree or habitation, with none to make him afraid ; for who can over- 
come him whose mind is stayed on God ? 



CHAPTER VII. 

god's judgments of men's ACTIONS. 

§ 42. When, in a preface to this Series, I promised to refute, in the last 
part of this Third Book, some slanders against God's government, I had 
hope that my medium would be very passive. I find him less so than I 
had desired. But I shall proceed to the performance of your expectation 
in such way as you may not expect, and in such way as may best accom- 
modate the imperfection of passiveness still existing in my medium. I 
am not, however, desirous to have you understand that this want of pas- 
siveness is so great as to cause error, for at the most it can only exist so 
far as to withhold truth. The utmost exertion of will on the part of my 
medium could effect no more than this, because I have promised you that 
error should not be suffered to escape through him. In other words, I 
have declared that he is passive enough to obey me, though he is some- 
times restless enough to pervert the channel through which I flow forth 
to you, and give a sinuosity to my current, which neither lessens my vol- 



197 

ume, or prevents my arrival at the ocean of Truth. This is manifest in 
one instance by his desire to accomplish the complete reception of this 
Book in two days, though not consecutive ones. This desire, though 
kept by him as far as he could in the back-ground, existed, and I gratify 
it. He has also other desires about it, no more disturbing indeed than 
that, and such desires, too, he would yield if I declared it my will that 
another course should be pursued. But from this you may perceive what 
is required of a medium for his perfection, and how far many are from 
passiveness that imagine themselves to possess it. 

§ 43. Having thus once more made you acquainted with my relation- 
ship to my medium, I will proceed to show you why God would have a 
man thus passive, thus non-exertive of will. It is because He is the 
Former of a man's intention, when the man submits entirely to Him. God 
says in effect to you, Be still and let Me work. Be still and see My Glory. 
But how then have I called you to work, and expressly declared you must 
work and form intentions in order to have God's Help ? It is this apparent 
contradiction which caused much difference among men in all ages, and it 
is this which I want you to find reconciled here. But, remember, As ye 
seek, ye find. If you look for difficulty, you will no more experience dis- 
appointment, than if you look for harmony and reconcilement. 

§ 44. God calls upon every man to work, and He also asks of every 
man a surrender of his will. His will is surrendered by a desire to do 
God's Will, and the work is performed in God's Will, when this surrender 
has been made. How, then, in this case, has my medium erred ? he hav- 
ing desired to surrender his will, and being willing to surrender it willing- 
ly, as soon as he knows what is God's Will upon this subject or point. 
God ealls on man to surrender his will, in effect, by desiring to do God's 
Will. This my medium has done. But, though my medium has the de- 
sire, he has not accomplished the work of the surrender ; having, instead 
of it, performed another work, or entertained another desire, as I have 
stated. Here, then, are two desires, existing simultaneously in this man's 
mind ; the one, proper and right ; and the other, not wrong, but not worthy 
or deserving to be entertained. But to ascertain this, we must go back 
beyond the desire or intention, to the motive. If the motive be good the 
desire is so : for whatever is pure in its source, remains so till intermixed 
with impurity. The motive for his desire was to establish the fact that 
the Book was written with such rapidity that no man could have accom- 
plished it without the aid of inspiration. This motive you do not perhaps 
perceive to be bad, or unworthy. But inasmuch as the motive has its 
origin in a desire to give an outward proof, which I have declared I will 
not give through him, he was wrong in allowing a desire to proceed from 
it But though thus far he was blamable, he was partly excusable from 
not perceiving his motive, and in believing his desire was prompted the 
more fully by another motive, also really existent, the wish that readers 
of the Book may be convinced that he docs not of himself produce the Book, 
but that it is given in a superhuman manner, from a superhuman source. 
This last motive is good, the other is not. But the former, or other, as I 
last called it, was only wrong because I had declared that I would not 
give outward proof through him of the manner of this writing. There- 



198 

fore il is that this assertion, of the time of writing, will either be doubted, 
or declared not unprecedented ; in either case, of course, failing to accom- 
plish the object my medium proposed. It is thus that man's projects fail. 
The motive may be good in itself, the desire may be unexceptionable, but 
the result is unobtainable by man's will, God having withheld His Will 
from its aid. God is, however, served; though man is not benefited, 
because God takes the desire for the fulfillment, and the motive for the 
desire. In this case, the motive being double, the law needs further ex- 
planation. The one motive, being hidden too from the medium in his con- 
sideration of the desire, also affects the act of desire. God has mercy on 
the bad or erroneous motive, because the medium was unconscious of his 
error, and He gives him credit or glory for the good motive, because it 
tended only to the completion of the desire to serve Him. The desire it- 
self was an indifferent one, neither good nor bad in itself; but praise- 
worthy, or reprehensible, according to its motive and effect. But the effect 
is also indifferent, or inconsequent to God, except as it affected the motive 
by its reason. If the effect was perceived to be bad, and the motive was 
immodified by it, wrong ensued. But if the effect was good, it was only 
the realization of the desire ; and, therefore, it did not alter the motive, 
except that it might strengthen or magnify it. Effects, then, are less ben- 
eficial to men than motives ; and this is wisely so provided : for, if God 
required success of man when he undertakes to do good, how much oftener 
would the man receive condemnation than praise for his most disinterested 
and benevolent intentions ? Such being the law of reward and punishment, 
let us again consider this effect, and how it will affect the motive. Here 
the effect being unforeseen, and in the future, it can not react upon the 
motive now. At some future time it might. At this time, then, this de- 
sire is judged only by its motives, for the effect is nothing, as yet, as 
regards men ; and the desire is, in itself, unconsequent. But, as the effect 
is a disturbance of my equable course of procedure or revelation, I have 
another view to take of it. 

The desire of my medium was held in strict subordination to his desire 
to do God's Will. He was willing to sacrifice this desire, first named, if 
he could perceive it to be my will or God's Will. So again the ignorance 
of my medium saves him from blame upon this view, and it should rather 
be regarded as his misfortune than as his error, that he had such a desire. 
But here again we have arrived at another opening for consideration of 
cause and effect. His character, which caused him to entertain this de- 
sire, and allowed such desire to be the consequent of (say) the good inten- 
tion, is the result of a long course of action, and the concentrated result 
of innumerable motives of action. For all these desires, actions, results, 
and motives, he is also accountable, and must render an account in that 
Third Sphere of which I have told you. 



199 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TEACHING AND BEING TAUGHT, HEREAFTER AND HERE. 

§ 45. The last chapter elucidated the system of reward and punish- 
ment, and prepared the way for the explanation of the recompense pre- 
pared for man in the Spirit-World. The Second Sphere is. emphatically, 
the sphere of Recompense for the deeds done in the body. In that sphere 
man becomes reconciled to God's Will sufficiently to receive His commands, 
and be the servant of His servants. In that sphere he is advanced, or re- 
tarded, by the deeds, and the motives which produced them, in his past 
experience. 

In this Circle, or Sphere, for a sphere is only a great circle, and each 
circle contains numerous divisions like unto associated bodies of men, in 
this Sphere of Reconciliation or Recompense the spirit maintains such rela- 
tions with itself, and toward God, as its aggregated experience or char- 
acter had prepared it for. If Hate, or Revenge, was its ruling passion in 
bodily life, it is so on its entrance into the Future or Spirit- World. If 
Good Desires had predominated and existed in activity, the spirit finds 
congenial action in this sphere. It assumes quickly its appropriate circle. 
It finds, also, the particular section or division or association, in that circle, 
which its habits of thought and action fit it to enjoy. It finds this by the 
attraction which like has for like, and by the aid of those laws of spirit- 
matter which enable it to take cognizance of very distant relations. In 
this it is assisted by those spirits which perceive its congeniality. It is 
welcomed by them. The force of earthly ties is not exhausted, the father 
or mother seeks the child, the brother or sister seeks its cherished relation, 
the husband or wife or lover seeks the object of its affection, and so the 
links extend to greater distances. But in all this is great wisdom, for the 
higher spirit seeks the lower, but can not be drawn down to it. The 
lower can advance, can be elevated, but the higher also ascends. The 
companionship in the Spirit- World is, and must be, different from the body 
relationship ; because, not only are the wants and needs and passions that 
belong peculiarly to animal life wanting, but because the spirits are often 
in different circles, always, almost, in different divisions of a circle; and 
the equality, or superiority, that existed on the earth is merged in that 
which depends on advancement. The higher is improved by the exercise 
of its superior attributes in endeavoring to elevate the lower, and the 
lower is induced to profit by the teachings of the higher, because of the 
acquaintance or relationship which previously existed. So, too, it is that 
names which have been revered in the bodily life become or continue to 
be of consequence in the Future World, for the lower spirit will regard 
their teaching, when perhaps a higher spirit than the so revered one would 
be disregarded. It is thus that God causes all to work together for good : 
for all are bound in one chain of existence, and the great gulfs in the 
world to come arc, by God's mercy, spanned by bridges of affection. True 



200 

there are other influences by which the lower spirits are operated upon, 
for the higher spirits take pleasure in serving or assisting the lower ones ; 
and as they regard all God's creatures with affection, they are ever at the 
service of God in persuading or teaching all men and spirits to advance, 
to know God better, to serve Him more, to sacrifice to Him fully. 

$ 46. Having briefly sketched this plan of redemption, let me point out 
to you that you can find a confirmation of it in the Bible, where it is related 
that I preached to the antediluvians, or fallen angels, during the brief 
period which elapsed between my departure from, and re-entrance into, 
the body. 

A SERMON. 

§ 47. There is also another remarkable passage, which confirms this, 
which I will leave you to search for by diligent study. For I do not want 
you to cease to study former revelation because you have faith in this, but 
seek good in all. and let all be so embraced in your mind that they confirm 
and strengthen each other. I do not call you away from any help you 
have had to find the way to peace and eternal happiness, but give you 
more. I do not come to destroy the law you have had, but to fulfill it ; to 
elucidate it; to confirm it, and to perfect it. In all this, I am not only 
doing good work, but I am fulfilling prophecy, and doing my Father's 
Will. In all this I am but a servant of His Will, though I am the High 
and Holy Son of His Love and Power. In this I accomplish His Will, 
declared from the foundation of the world, that all men shall be saved ; 
and His pleasure that His spirit should not always strive with man. Here 
I rest from persuading you to seek and search the old. For Moses had 
his teachers in every city when I preached in the outward, and yet how 
few of their hearers failed to continue to reverence sufficiently the old. 
The early church was, indeed, clogged by their holding back, and adher- 
ence to the past forms. So it is and will be. The old has its organization 
in all the fairest portion of the earth, and though it will in all parts, at 
last, accept this revelation, it will but too strenuously strive to find in it a 
support for its old doctrines, forms, and requirements. But, though, I do 
not call you from the old, I do not say leave your church, but remain in 
your church as long as it will keep you in, I do say, Strive to win your 
church to accept the Truth as it is here revealed ; and this is to be accom- 
plished by asking your brother, your neighbor, your elder, or your bishop, 
to join you in the pursuit and investigation of the way to the Throne of 
God. To Him every knee shall bow, and every tongue give praise ; and 
to His dominion over you there shall be no end. Be then willing to suffer 
for my sake, and to suffer wherever you are, in this, or that church organ- 
ization, or if you are in none be content. Form no new association, call 
no minister, wait for the revealments of God's Will. For those who act 
in their own wills shall be confounded, and be washed from their sandy 
foundation : and those who trust in God shall never fear, or be shaken 
by any storms that may assault their rock-founded edifice. 

All that would serve God. then, by preaching the Good Tidings herein 
contained, may do so individually, and in a brotherly way. Persuade, 



201 

entreat, and reason with, your fellow-men. Give them your example of 
patience, long-suffering, and forbearance. Show them a bright and beau- 
tiful example, which shall bo to them as a city set on a hill, as a candle 
in a dark place, and as a light that can not be hidden. So shall you en- 
courage your friend and your neighbor to look, to search, and to see, what 
good things you have obtained from God, and how you can bear one for 
another your burdens. Take up your cross and follow me, for I am meek 
and lowly, and have not where to lay my head, I declared to you long 
ago ; and so I call yet upon you to sacrifice all to the service of God, and 
the good of your fellow-men. Be ye then of good cheer, I have overcome 
the world, and though you are in the world, T leave and give unto you 
my peace. Be then diligent, faithful, prayerful, and attentive to the words 
or thoughts I shall put into your hearts, when you are at peace with the 
world and silent before God. I need no church edifice, no set time to find 
you, or know you are ready. Turn unto me ; seek, and you shall find : 
look for me, and you will see me coming from Bozrah in dyed garments. 
Bozrah is the old, as Jerusalem is the new, or present ; as the New Jeru- 
salem is the future, and the now coming. Be ye also ready, for ye know 
not when the bridegroom cometh. Have your lamps lighted and trimmed, 
so that you may be found among the wise who know and understand. 
Be ever ready and willing to receive me, or God, in whatever way, time, 
or manner, I may please to appear, or be made known. So shall you be 
found ever watchful, and if the watchman keep the city, the Lord will keep 
it : but if the watchman do not keep the city, it will be lost by surprise. 
The watchman watcheth in vain, except the Lord keeps the city ; but the 
Lord will not keep it if the watch be withdrawn. Do, then, your part, and 
I will do mine. Do your part, and God will do His. God will have 
you to act, but He will have your acts to be conformed to His Will. He 
wdll have you form intentions, but those intentions must be faithfully con- 
formed to His known Will. He will have you to exert your will, and act 
in it, but only as your will is subject to His Will, and entirely submissive 
and subservient to it. That you may know what His Will is, I have 
written these Books, in which I have constantly urged you to this one sacri- 
fice, and in which I have endeavored to convince you that true happiness 
can never result from man's own will b*eing served, even though every 
wish be gratified, and every desire satiated. True happiness has but one 
source, and that source is the source of all good, and the fountain of every 
bliss. Be, then, faithfully obedient to the prompting of every good spirit, 
and seek for that riches which passeth not away. Be sure that you listen 
for that still small voice which the Jewish prophet heard, and you will 
find that it gives forth no uncertain sound. You shall know plainly when 
to put on your armor, and go forth to the battle of the Last Day ; the day 
in which shall be seen the sign of the Son of Man coming in the clouds 
of glory, and shining from the East unto the West with the brightness and 
rapidity of the lightning. So shall you be found standing in your place 
in the Last Day. 



202 

CHAP TEE IX 

PROGRESS OF REVELATION. 



A SERMON. 

§ 48. Having led you thus far by the power of attraction, I shall not 
begin to drive you. I am the First, and the Last; and, as I was in Be- 
ginning, I shall be to the End. Here is a new meaning for you to study 
and investigate ; for I do not expect you to take my words without exam- 
ination, or receive my ideas without reflection upon them. Be the follow- 
ers though, and seek not to lead. If any would be chief among you, let 
it be with humility ; let him be the servant of the others, and look not to 
them, but to me, for his reward ; for, verily, I say unto you, that as he 
sows he shall reap • if he sows for corruption, he shall reap it ; if he sows 
for men's approval, he shall not obtain mine ; if he is humble that he may 
be exalted by men, let him not expect to obtain any other reward for it ; 
if he is humble that he may be exalted by me in the life to come, let him 
be satisfied with the expectation that I will not forget him, and that his 
treasure is laid up in a secure place, where it accumulates at a higher 
rate of interest than men ever pay, even when most recklesslv adventu- 
rous. 

§ 49. But how shall I serve others? perhaps you will say, forgetting 
the ample instruction I gave to my disciples and followers upon this sub- 
ject eighteen hundred years ago, and well recorded and faithfully trans- 
mitted to you through so many generations and chances of perversion or 
destruction. How little heeded, too, have these injunctions been, in com- 
parison with those discourses which related more to myself, and my rela- 
tionship to God and to you. And yet the latter were only called out by 
the desires of those who then opposed me, while the former was my free 
offering to the crowds of men, women, and children who followed and 
were fed by me. The former was the essential part which I urged upon 
men, the latter was the unessential, which men called on me for. So it 
has continued to be since. The former has been assented to and passed 
over ; the latter canvassed, and objected to, and dwelt upon. I only de- 
sired men to believe me Christ, or Messiah, in order that they should be 
induced the more willingly to follow and obey my teaching. But men 
have chosen to investigate, and pursue blindly into unrevealed relations, 
that which could not help them if found, and to leave unexercised those 
precepts which I poured out as the Wisdom of God, and the way of salva- 
tion. It was not hearers, but doers, that I wanted. It is so now. The 
time is different, but the feeling is the same ; the individuals are different, 
but their wishes are the same. I have told you in these Books much of 
myself and of God, but it is because you would not hear me unless I did. 
I have made the revelation of those things the medium of enforcing or in- 



203 

culcating truths respecting your duties. You can not serve God better 
for knowing the Future World ; but I urge you to serve Him, because you 
now know so much more of the Future World. Be His Son's servants 
here, because thus will you become His Sons in the world to come. Be 
ever faithful to the precepts of duty ; because you have had explained to 
you how that faithfulness operates to insure your reward. Forget not to 
practice the precepts I gave 1800 years ago because they were so long 
since given, for God has not changed. He requires now no more of man 
than He did then, and then as now He required His children to give to 
Him, individually, their hearts. Sacrifice your wills, do His Will. This 
is all He asks now, all He asked then. 

But you say, Is not His Will different now ? if not. how was it that 
successive revelations were required to advance mankind to their present 
state, and to continue that progress ? I will answer this too, though I 
have already answered it in effect and reality, but not directly and 
openly. 

§ 50. The Egyptians were a learned nation. Civilization had made 
great progress, and life was easily supported and embellished, in that fer- 
tile land, under the patriarchal government of their Chief Priests or 
Pharaohs. But, by the devices of the upper or ruling classes, the people 
were gradually enslaved and made ignorant. In the course of many gen- 
erations the animals, and parts of animals, which had been set up as 
representatives of the attributes of the Great, and All-wise, and Supreme 
Being or God, became regarded as symbols of separate beings. Instead 
of being looked upon as the representatives of one Being, they were, at 
last, regarded as the representatives of so many and such various ones* 
Sinking deeper and deeper into ignorance, the knowledge and belief of the 
existence of a Supreme God was in a great measure lost, and the people 
ceased to look above the idol of their nearest city or temple. Moses was 
raised up at this time from a family not numerous enough to be called a 
nation, to be God's instrument in saving from oblivion the knowledge of 
the Unity of God and the nothingness of all His creatures. He obeyed 
his call, he did his work. His sacrifice was great, for he lost, by his res- 
olution to serve God, the throne or government of Egypt, which was his 
by the adoption he miraculously received, and which he was excluded 
from because he would not cease to regard the One True and Living God 
as alone worthy of worship and honor. Having, after many disappoint- 
ments, trials, and tribulations, been sufficiently purified for the work of 
leading out of Egypt a multitude who adhered to his political claims and 
pretensions, he accomplished the work, and gave to them a record of what 
God had done for them, and of what was known of God, and the Laws by 
which He created and sustained the world, as far as preserved by Egyptian 
records and traditions. To this he added rules for maintaining them in 
purity and faith, and the whole was commended to the people by signs and 
wonders. But the people were so ignorant and degraded, that continued 
miracles were needed to maintain even occasional obedience to these laws 
or rules, and to keep up a partial faith in the God who had delivered 
them, as superior to all other Gods. Thus it will be seen that much of 
the preaching of the prophets, of the early Jewish time, was to maintain 



204 

the superiority of Jehovah to Baal, or Ashtoreth, or other gods, and did 
not undertake to convince the people that the other gods were mere non- 
entities. However, in one sense, there is a reality about all worship of 
idols called gods, and that is that God looks to the motive of the worship, 
and the heart of the worshiper, and excuses his ignorance and his error in 
not looking high enough for his God. That the man worships, and desires 
to serve his god, is enough to make his heart's sacrifice acceptable, even 
as acceptable as if it were offered in the purest form of words which learn- 
ing and piety can compose. 

§ 51. In a later period of the Jewish History, the nation was better in- 
formed and more obedient. Actual progress had been made, and they 
were prepared, or at least some of them, for greater and for a purer and 
less outward form of worship. I appeared, and my followers after my 
ascension collected, as I have stated previously, my sayings, and recorded 
my teachings and a History of my ministry. In about three hundred 
years this came to be regarded with some reverence, but not with great 
reverence till about a hundred years later. And what, you will say, was 
the Christian's guide in this dark period of persecution and neglect ? The 
Old Testament, and the speculations of men, and the teachings of tho 
Apostles and of other inspired men : But the Church, or the body of pro- 
fessing Christians, were sadly corrupted in doctrine and practice ; and the 
History of the Church shows its leaders most distinguished for piety and 
learning, to have been ignorant, corrupt, and malicious. Ambition, and 
lu£t of various kinds, ruled their characters and obscured their virtues. 
Sad, indeed, was its state, and only the life-giving principles of Christian 
doctrine could ever have raised the standard of purity, and elevated the 
mass to the practice of duties enjoined by those precepts. A continual 
progress was maintained in the purity of the church, after this lowest 
period, and it was because the Bible, or the New Testament, came to be 
regarded as of paramount authority to the maxims or teachings of men, 
and the vain speculations of so-called philosophers or gnostics. The New 
Testament was again obscured by the change of language in Europe, and 
by the reverence the Church began to attach to the teachings of the ignorant 
and corrupt leaders it dignified with the name of Fathers. Again, when 
it was translated into the vernacular languages and placed in the hands 
of the people, a mighty change took place, and tradition and the works of 
men were greatly shaken, and much overthrown. Again and again would 
the people impel the Church to advance, or the Church, casting out the 
reformers, would be left by them in the bondage that some could cast off, 
by arriving nearer and nearer to the spiritual teaching or understanding 
of the record, now so generally diffused. Even the churches that resisted 
most the new movement have been modified by it j and they, as well as 
all collectively, and the fewer enthusiasts, have progressed, do progress, 
and will progress ; and now, by the help of this teaching, will progress 
with unexampled rapidity. 

§ 52. It is thus that revelation has blessed mankind, and prepared them 
continually for better things. It is thus that men have progressed to a 
capacity to receive, and willingness to acknowledge, the Will of God. It 
is thus that the way has been prepared for this Revelation, commenced 



205 

in weakness, ending in power; commenced in the fear of man, ending in 
a triumph over all the inventions, arts, and oppositions of mankind. It is 
thus that God has been ever considerate and benevolent, and has, from 
time to time, bestowed upon man revealments of Himself, which some- 
times man has profited by, and sometimes has failed to receive. But did 
God then miscalculate when man rejected His revelation? God left man 
free. Man rejected the counsel of God. God used the medium that offer- 
ed himself as the instrument of His Will, and blessed the willingness to 
be used, and, if necessary, sacrificed. But God always chose to have 
progress, and man has progressed, from age to age, and decennary to de- 
cennary. Man now enters the Spirit- World better prepared for advance- 
ment, more qualified for the circle of Good Works, than he ever before did 
in any age of the World. So God designs to have progress continue. Will 
you resist ? and you ? and you ? If you will, others may progress with- 
out you. and their progress too will react upon you, and cause you to 
emulate their actions, their love, their sacrifices. God calmly awaits 
your progress, secure in eternity's existence, secure in the laws He has 
established, that you will yet bow to His Will, praise His Goodness, mag- 
nify His Glory, and rejoice in His Love, and PoAver, and Mercy. Let us 
all then strive to join now, rather than in a future day or time, in the 
grand old song, and the ever new song, that the redeemed of God love te 
shout forth to His Praise. 

Great and Marvelous are Thy Works 

Lord God Almighty, 
Just and true are all Thy Ways, 

Thou King of Saints. 



CHAPTER X 



§ 53. Let us return once more to the consideration of the subject of 
eternal progress. The past ages have shadowed forth the beauty of this 
doctrine, the investigations of science have prepared mankind for its revela- 
tion, and the purity of mathematics has established its possibility. All 
have progressed. All see that perfection has not been attained, and all are 
now willing to believe that in this department, as in geometry, a point or 
line may be continually approached without its ever being reached, if only 
a certain part of the distance remaining be at each step overcome. 

§54. Progress, then, is eternal. Never-ending Progress. How vast 
is the conception necessary to contain the idea ! It is indeed the nearest 
approach to the conception of Infinity which is possible for man to make. 
God alone is Perfect. He alone is Infinite. Of Him as Perfect, and as 
Infinite, we can not conceive. We can only imagine a being vastly, im- 
measurably, above ourselves or any being of which we have a conception. 
We may then add, to this imaginary being, an imaginary addition ; and at 
last we have an imaginary being which is really beyond our conception, 



206 

but yet far short of reaching the Infinite. Let man be at rest, then, and 
cease to soar aloft above his powers. But exercise his powers. View the 
most perfect God you can conceive of, and you will perceive one so far 
above the one generally worshiped, that you will be astonished at the 
progress mankind have made, and be willing to believe that this progress 
is but begun. 

§ 55. First, then, conceive if you can of a good man, next of one better, 
then of one better yet : lastly, if you can, make him more nearly perfect : 
conceive of him as perfect, if you can: for he may be perfect as a man. 
Having got thus into your mind a being who, though but a man, is inca- 
pable of error, who forgives injuries, bestows bountifully even upon his 
most malicious enemies, walks in obedience to the Divine dictates of justice, 
but allows mercy to so temper justice as to save his severest act from the 
imputation of unnecessity, or worse still from its being the semblance of 
revenge or hate or punishment for an injury to himself, having, I say, thus 
formed in your mind this imaginary man, conceive that there is added to 
this man's capacity for action, and means of benevolence and mercy, un- 
limited power, infinite wisdom, ineffable love, that his fellow-men are all 
his children, and ask yourself if your God, that you have preached and 
worshiped and tried to imitate, was as good as that conception. If not, 
what must you think, but that you have degraded God to a level below 
His Nature, and not only that, but below human nature. For. when you 
have reached the highest conception possible for your mind to grasp, you 
well know that there are minds greater than yours, in the body ; that there 
are purer, higher, more intellectual men, and that they could conceive of 
a higher, purer, and more God-like being. You are, therefore, yet below 
even a human standard of excellence. But you also know or believe, thai 
there are in Heaven, higher, purer, holier, more God-like beings than this 
purest of all men on the earth, and you must also believe that, inasmuch 
as they are created, they are inferior to the Creator : inasmuch as they 
are finite, they can not conceive of the Infinite. So that however much 
beyond your conception their appreciation may go of an All- Wise, All- 
Merciful, All-Powerful Being, it is still as far from Perfection and Truth 
as Infinity is above all that is perishable or finite. 

§ 56. Here, then, we pause, and ask you, if this Being — so much better 
than a good man, so much more loving than a father, so much more pow- 
erful than a prince, so much more wise than a philosopher — would create 
or permit such circumstances to exist as should condemn to an unending 
punishment, an eternal suffering, the child of His own creation, whom He 
knew from aforetime would suffer, and sin, and fall, and be punished ? 
Can you believe this Being, possessed of Infinite compassion, could behold 
unmoA'ed the despairing agony of countless myriads of these offspring of 
His Love, endowed with powers and capacities for the enjoyment of the 
highest happiness ; can you, I say. believe that this Ail-Powerful and 
Compassionate Father and Friend would look unmoved upon the despair, 
would hear unmoved the shrieks of agony, the wails of repentance, the 
unlimited torturing complaint ? Alas ! oh, man ! if you can from your 
heart believe God to be such a Being, you deserve to taste, at least, of this 
torture, which you perhaps say is necessary to satisfy His Justice. 



207 

$ 57. Is then God's Justice paramount to His Mercy ? or is God's Mercy 
less exercisable than man's to overrule His Justice, if the two are incom- 
patible ? But. oh, man ! know you not that God does not contradict 
Himself, and is all Harmony ? If God's Justice and Mercy were in oppo- 
sition to each other, God would contain a war in Himself! His attributes 
would be opposed to each other, and neutralize each other ; or one would 
obtain a victory and annihilate the other! You see these outrageous 
pretensions need but to be extended to their legitimate consequences, to 
obtain your spontaneous rejection. God is Great, Good, and Powerful. 
God is the personification of Wisdom. All that is Good not only exists in 
Him in perfection, but has no existence except as a procedure from Him. 
All that is evil and inharmonious exists by His Will or consent, and must 
be resolvable into good, and is resolvable into harmony. God never suf- 
fers from disappointment, and if His creatures do, be assured it is in Wis- 
dom provided that they should so suffer, and that His Mercy and Love 
have provided compensation for them. 

§ 58. When the Justice and Mercy of God are thus assailed, by being 
placed so in opposition to each other that His Infinite Wisdom is only able 
to reconcile them by supposing an ineffectual sacrifice of a being more 
loved by Him than man, and an eternal suffering of unheard of and incon- 
ceivable torment by His finite children who failed to know or accomplish 
the requirements of God's own Will, I say, when this opposition of God's 
attributes is so established, or supposed to be established, the very beasts 
would blush, could the enormity of their superiors' error become apparent 
to them ! No beast would conceive of the existence of such a master, no 
government w^ould allow the infliction of such suffering and cruelty' upon 
a beast. It is a doctrine born in sin, in pride, and in priestcraft. It is a 
doctrine of devils, which, as I have explained, are men acting in their own 
wills, who have thus made themselves as God, by assuming to have power 
to save some from Hell, and condemn their enemies or opponents, or even 
all who are not their friends or obedient servants, to this cruel fate. Of 
all the abominations that have ever existed in high places or low ones, in 
the church or the camp, this is the most derogatory to God's character with 
men, and the most fatal in its results upon the actions and characters of 
men. It gives them an example of heartless cruelty, a false conception 
of their best Friend, and induces them to fear Him whom they ought es- 
pecially to love. Let us say to all such doctrine, and to all supporters of 
it. anathema maranatha. That is, be condemned and separated from 
us. 

§ 59. I have now vindicated God's government from its foulest asper- 
sion. I have urged you to love God, because He loves you ; I have urged 
you to abstain from sin, because it will cause you disappointment or un- 
happiness : I have called you to practice virtue, because it brings its own 
reward, through the Love of God and of His Son, and through the peace 
which He confers on all who act for others rather than for themselves ; I 
have urged you to love God for His own sake, and for your own sake, and 
because He is the most lovable object in His whole Creation ; but I have 
also urged you to sacrifice to Him you own wills or desires, because those 
desires produce unhappiness, while action, and desires, and motives, in 



208 

God's Will produce Heavenly Peace and Perfect Bliss. I have referred 
you to many helps by which you may be assisted, and to several guides 
who will each point you to the same road. I tell you that one guide will 
help you at one point, another at another, a third at a still more perplex- 
ing place. But I ask you take them all along, you can not dispense with 
any of them without loss, and no man shall have cause to be ashamed 
because he takes them all and consults them all. They are all the gifts 
of God, designed for his help and guidance, and man should no more de- 
spise the gift, than the Giver ; but should glorify God as the Wisest, Best, 
and Purest Being that has ever sustained any relation to him, and as being 
his nearest, and dearest, as well as his most powerful Friend. 



AMEN. 

The End of the Second and Last Series, 
of the 

HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THING! 



INDEX. 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT. 

Title Page 171 

Introduction to this Third Book . . . . . . 173 

Preface to Third Book 174 

Chap. I. — Reasons for believing this Revelation . . . 175 

Chap. II. — God's calls upon Men 179 

Chap. III.— Necessity of Faith 183 

Chap. IV. — Laws of the Second Sphere 185 

Chap. V. — Action of Higher upon Lower Existence . . 189 

Chap. VI. — Progression to Wisdom 195 

Chap. VII. — God's Judgments of Men's Actions . . . 196 

Chap. VIII. — Teaching and being Taught 199 

Chap. IX. — Progress of Revelation 202 

Chap. X. — Vindication of God r s Justice and Mercy * . . 205 



TABLE OF CONTENTS— THIRD BOOK. 



CHAPTER I. 

REASONS FOR BELIEVING THIS REVELATION. 

$ 1. Testimony of the Truth of these Books, p. 175. § 2. Prayer the 
reader should make, 175. § 3. Perfection of the test to all who believe 
in prayer, 176. $ 4. Appeal by reason and argument after the manner 
of men, 176. §5. The greatness of the evidence, the little asked to be 
yielded by men, 178. 

CHAPTER II. 

GOD'S CALLS UPON MEN. 

$ 6. The law of duty. 179. § 7. Conscience, 179. $ 8. The whole duty 
of man, 180. $ 9. Duties of the Second Sphere, 180. § 10. Suicide 
considered, 181. §11. God's operation upon Man's Free-Will, 181. 
§ 12. Duty of searching for motives, 182. § 13. Perfection attainable, 
182. 

CHAPTER III. 

NECESSITY OF FAITH. 

\ 14. Have Faith, 183. $ 15. Let all seek Faith, 184. $ 16. The way 
to use the Scriptures, 184. 

14 



\ 



210 
CHAPTER IV. 

THE LAWS OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 

17. What follows Death, 185. $18. What Death is, 185. $19. The 
happiness of Death, 185. $ 20. Inevitable part of Death. 186. $ 21. 
Misapprehensions of Spirits regarding themselves, 186. $ 22. Misap- 
prehension of Spirits regarding others, 186. $ 23. Actions of Spirits in 
the will of bodily men, 187. $ 24. The true object of punishment, 187. 
$ 25. The true guide or law, 188. 

CHAPTER V. 

ACTION OF THE HIGHER UPON THE LOWER EXISTENCE. 

$ 26. Change in the Spirit Body, 189. $ 27. Change and progress con- 
tinued, 189. $ 28. Action of Spirits upon each other, 190. $ 29. Un- 
certainty of Mediums, 191. $ 30. Errors of believers, 191. $ 31. Many 
evidences of this as revelation, 192. $ 32. Invitation to prayer, 193. 
$ 33. Prayer for Help of God, 193. $ 34. Prayer for Knowledge and 
Peace, 194. $ 35. Prayer for Wisdom, 194. $ 36. Prayer for Direc- 
tion, 194. $ 37. Prayer for Mercy, 194. $ 38. General Counsel, 194. 

CHAPTER VI. 

PROGRESSION TO WISDOM. 

§ 39. The home and journeys of Spirits, 195. $ 40. Fullness of this Rev- 
elation, 195. $ 41. Unreliability of Reason, 196. 

CHAPTER VII. 

GOD'S JUDGMENTS OF MEN'S ACTIONS. 

$ 42. My requirements of Mediums, 196. $ 43. Apparent contradiction, 
197. $ 44. An example of Divine Judgment, 197. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

TEACHING AND BEING TAUGHT, HEREAFTER AND HERE. 

$ 45. Relations of Spirits in the Second Sphere, 199. $ 46. Remarkable 
passage in John's Epistle, 200. § 47. A Sermon on the outward duties 
of Believers, 200. 

CHAPTER IX. 

PROGRESS OF REVELATION. 

$ 48. Man chooses his reward himself, 201. § 49. Inducements to hear 
me, 201. $ 50. The revelation by Moses, 202. $ 51. My former Rev- 
elation, 203. § 52. Other Revelation, including This, 204. 

CHAPTER X. 

VINDICATION OF GOd's JUSTICE AND MERCY. 

$ 53. Continuity of Progress, 205. $ 54. Impossibility of conceiving God 
in the mind of man, 205. $ 55. Example of approach to it, 206. 
$ 56. Incompatibility of Eternal Punishment with this idea of God, 206. 
$ 57. God is the Authoi of All His Works, 207. $ 58. Abominable 
nature of the doctrine of Hell as preached by men, 207. $ 59. Conclu- 
sion, Recapitulation of what has been done, 207. 



GENERAL ARRANGEMENT 

OF THE VOLUME FORMED BY THE SECOND SERIES 

i 

OF THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 



Page 

Title Page of the Series 1 

Introduction to the Series 3 

Preface to the Series ........ 4 

Title Page of the First Book 5 

First Book, Including its Appendages 7 

Title Page of the Second Book 55 

Second Book. Including its Appendages 5T 

Title Page of the Third Book 171 

Third Book ; Including its Appendages 173 

This Index, or General Arrangement 211 



INDEX TO THE SUBJECTS OF THE VOLUME. 



Aura, L, 12 : II., 65. 94. 

Alexander of Macedon, I., 40. 

Animals, II., 66, 69. 

Atonement, II., 139. 

ADglo-Saxons, II., 153. 

Adam, III., 1T6. 

Body, II., 60. 

Beasts, III., 207. 

Bible, II.. 131, 133, 188, 142 ; III., 184, 204. 

Blood of the Lamb, II., 131. 

Church, III.. 200, 204. 

Character, III., 198. 

Caloric, I., 12,14; II.. 59. 

Christ, L, 17; II.. 117. 

Comforter, I., 24: II.. 94; III., 178. 

Caesar, I.. 39. 

Constantine, II., 134. 

Creation, II., 59. 

Conscience, II., 92, 93. 

Communion, II., 93, 152, 163 ; III., 182. 

Dives and Lazarus, I.. 22; III., 199. 

Death, III., 185, 189. 

Divinity, L, 82 ; II.. 61. 

Duty, Hi., 1S9. 

Divisions in Paradise and'Spirit World, II., 

108. 
David, II., 143. 



Electricity, II., 63. 

Eternal Punishment, III., 206. 

Entreaty, II., 114, 120, 122, 153, 156 ; 111., 

177, 193, 207. 
Enoch, II., 158. 
Egypt, III., 203. 
Existence, III., 181. 
Fifth Monarchy, II., 100, 125. 
Free Will, II.. 112, 181. 
Faith, II., 137; III., 183. 
Fire from Heaven, II., 141. 
Favor, II., 160. 

Fathers of the Church, III., 204- 
Guardian Angel. I., 21. 
God, II., 62; III., 205, 203. 
Greek Christianity, II., 74. 
God's Word, 142, 146; III., 184. 
Guide, Internal, III., 192. 
God's Government, III., 197. 
History of the Origin of All Things, I., 70 

II., 38,149,150,162; III., 191. 
Heaven, II., 157. 
Idolatry, III., 203, 204 
Inspiration, II., 88. 
Intelligence, II., 69, 86, 88, 94. 
Instinct, II., 67. 
Infinity, I., 12; II., 124; UL, 205. 



•21 



Infancy, I., 20, 21. 

Individuality, II., 61, 63. 

Jerusalem, II., 101. 

Jonah, II., 143. 

Jesus of Nazareth, II., 125, 12T ; III., 204. 

Justice, II., 160 ; III., 207. 

Knowledge, II., 60, 111, 146 ; III., 195. 

Last Day, III., 201. 

Life, III., 189. 

Laws, III., 1S7. 

Light of the Sun, I., 12. 

Life, II., 66, 67. 

Lamb of God, II., 130. 

Love, II., 163. 

Miracles, II., 94. 

Mormonism, II., 73. 

Mohammedanism, II., 73, 74, 134, 141. 

Man, I., 14, 18 ; II., 70, 84, 116 ; III., 179. 

Medium, I., 13, 32, 36, 47 ; II., 69, 81, 104, 

132, 144, 145, 148 ; III., 191, 196. 
Matter, I., 25, 29. 
Magnetism, I., 31 ; II., 59, 95. 
Memory, L, 38. 

Mary, the Yirgin Mother, II., 119, 126. 
Messiah, L, 45. 
Moses, II., 92 ; III., 203. 
Number of the Name, II., 124 
New Jerusalem, II., 137. 
Noah, II., 161. 
Od, L, 31 ; II., 59, 95. 
Outward Manifestations, I., 33, 85 : II., 88, 97, 

129 ; III., 177, 178. 
Perfection, III., 205. 
Punishment, III., 187, 206. 
Paradise, I., 9, 10 ; II., 84, 106, 114. 
Prayer, L, 48 ; II., 115, 119, 125, 152, 156, 161, 

163, 164 ; III., 175, 193. 



Prophecy Fulfilled, II., 75. 

Paul, II., 77,91. 

Peter, II., 144. 

Progress, II., 114, 159 : III., 205. 

PairitalPart.IL, 124. 

Quakers, II., S9 ; III., 192. 

Revelation, I., 32, 34; II., 79. 140, 143, 151; 

III., 200, 204. 
Reasons for Believing, I., 37, 45 ; II., To. 90, 

105; III., 175, 192. 
Reason, II., 69, 133; III., 176, 196. 
Roman Christianity, IL, 74. 76, 135. 
Recompense, III., 199. 
Relations in the Spirit World, III., 199. 
Reformers, III., 204. 
Song, III.. 205. 

Souls, I., 16; IL, 63, 84, 94, 107. 
Sons of God, I., 25, 45 ; II., 86, 124, 128. 
Spirit, I., 27; IL, 64, 94; III., 183. 1S9. 
Sacrifice, L, 49; IL, 159; III., 203. 
Scripture Explained, IL, 75. 136, 142; III., 

200, 202. 
Salvation, IL, 93, 131, 136. 162. 
Spirit World, IL, 95, 106, 114, 145, 146 ; III., 

180, 186, 1S9. 195. 
Sermonizing, IL, 138, 153, 162 ; III., 176, 194, 

200, 205. 
Solomon, IL, 143. 
Trinity, L, 15. 
Treasure, III., 202. 
Ungodly, IL, 138. 
TJniversalism, IL, 139. 
Vegetables, IL, 67, 68. 
Vindication of God, III., 205. 
Word, IL, 61, 62, 84, 124, 146 ; III., 184. 
Word of God, III., 184. 
Wisdom of God, III., 202. 



The books here published, are, as stated previously, the result of last 
year's labors of my medium : but I did not intend to have them pub- 
lished till this time. Much anxiety has been expressed by the few who 
were cognizant of the existence of tho manuscript for its earlier publica- 
tion ; but the time had not arrived, and has not yet arrived, for the gen- 
eral reception of the books. I am patient. Do you be patient. 

August, 1853. 






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